


Going forward and beyond

by kurenohikari



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Aura Guardian Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, BAMF Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Battle Frontier (Pokemon), F/M, M/M, Protective Ash Ketchum's Pokemons, Ranger Ash Ketchum, Shinou-chihou | Sinnoh Region (Pokemon), Smart Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Tauros Trade
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:20:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 39,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26412526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurenohikari/pseuds/kurenohikari
Summary: Yes, I finally did it!A Pokemon fanfic of Ash getting serious after the Battle Frontier Arc and training before going to Sinnoh. There will be the Tauros trade and aura training.A smarter, pokemon ranger, aura guardian Ash Ketchum.Ash will be paired off with a guy. If you don't like it, don't read. I still don't know which. You can leave me a comment with a suggestion.
Comments: 103
Kudos: 276
Collections: Not to be misplaced





	1. I Ash’s P.O.V

I was panting… I have never been so tired in my life and my pokemon were the ones who fought! But I had done it, I won against the last Brain Frontier. Sceptile, Charizard, and Pikachu had been exhausted by the end, but we persevered and were able to defeat the Regi Trio. Making us the first ones to have ever defeated the Battle Frontier.

But I somehow felt empty with my victory. Maybe it was that I had grown up a lot in the last two years, having taken May and Max under my wing had made me mature a bit. So, I could be the best example for them to follow. Or maybe it was the fact that since I lost in the Ever Grande Conference, I had started to second guess myself on everything. I knew I could have won and passed to the semi-finals, so, why didn't I? Why do I always make the wrong choice in pokemon and let them down over and over again?

I know now that my first ever league was pure luck, my second less so but I still could have done better, but by my third, I've already gathered a nice pool of pokemon and a lot of experience. So, why was that league one mistake after the other? Not to mention this year! The Battle Frontier…

I was better, much better… but I know I only won because of my pokemon. Not because I was a good trainer. Don’t get me wrong, I am a _nice_ trainer… but being nice doesn’t mean I am good. It's not like I'll start being a bad trainer to be strong, but I have been neglecting my pokemon too much. I love the adventure of getting new pokemon and start their training from zero, it’s always nice to expand my family and it’s a new experience every time. But I shouldn’t neglect my past pokemon for the new ones, most of my pokemon are only in shape because they keep training themselves while in the Ranch.

How foolish I was to recall pokemon during conferences and expect them to fight as if they had never left my side? I should have noticed that! Poor Kingler and Muk, they had never been on the road with me and they had always been so affectionate with me!

Touch starved for sure… Not to mention, Totodile and Cyndaquil, should have evolved by now! Primeape and Pidgeot had been forgotten as well… I am truly a horrible trainer…

Obliviousness is not bliss. My stupidity and naivety have been hurting my pokemon long enough!

"Pika pi?" I was snapped out of my gloomy thoughts by my best friend, my brother in all but blood and species.

"It's ok Pikachu," I smiled at my worried pokemon. "It will all be ok," I sighed. The weight that I had been feeling all year long was finally being lifted. "I'll make sure of it!"

“Pika pi!” Pikachu exclaimed, his eyes burning with determination.

He also looked relieved. No wonder he has surely noticed my weird behavior and has been concerned. I felt bad about worrying him, but this was the wakeup call I had been needing.

I stood up and left my room in the Pokemon Center. I was alone with May having already left for Johto, Max for Hoenn and Brock having gone back home. I knew it was late but I also knew that Professor Oak was awake. He always works late during this season, with the Indigo League being so close, a lot of trainers were training hard and needed his help at all sorts of times.

"Ash, my boy, what has you up so late?" Professor Oak asked me with a concerned frown.

"You see Professor, I have just realized what a conceited fool I have been," I chuckled humorlessly.

"Ash!/Pikapi!" Both Professor Oak and Pikachu exclaimed, casting worried looks towards me.

"It's ok. I needed that wake-up call and I want to be better… I need to be better. My pokemon deserve that." I don't know what it was. If it was my declaration, my tone of voice, or my determined expression but the surprised expression on Professor Oak's face turned into one of pride. "I will take a detour and get back a couple of friends but when I return it will be an intense three months of training before the Sinnoh League starts. Can you teach me how to be a better trainer Professor?"

"I would love to, my boy," he replied with warmth, making my heart burst in happiness. "I would also recommend getting some cooking lessons from your mom. You might not become the best cook out there but you need to know how to feed yourself without Brock. Also, how your pokemon food differs from their type. Or how to groom them."

"I already know how to groom them," I cut him off, getting a surprising look. One I should have expected. "Brock has been teaching me since the first year. I love playing and taking care of my pokemon, so grooming came naturally to me. I also have a decent experience in first aid, but for something more demanding I need to go to a Pokemon Center."

"That's what nurses and doctors are for," he comforted me. “You also need to learn how to manage your bank account. Your mom has been doing so since the start, even paying Brock for all the food and grooming materials you have been using.”

"I have a bank account?!" I asked surprised.

"Pi-Kapi?!" Said Pikachu also in shock.

"Well, what did you expect boy? You have won 24 gym badges, 28 if you count the Orange Islands, competed in three Leagues, won the Orange Islands’ Championship, entered countless events in every region, even Pokemon Contests, not to mention you have all seven symbols and had become the first one to have ever won the Battle Frontier Challenge. All of those achievements come with a good paycheck. Why else do you think the Pokemon League is so popular and so many want to join it? Or why did you think they would ask you to swipe your ID before and _after_ the competitions?" He scolded, making me sigh.

But he was right, I realized that I still have a lot to learn. "I will have mom teach me alongside her cooking lessons," I promised him. "Don't worry, I can't have gained that much… OH MY ARCEUS!" I shouted, not that I could hold it in. There were too many ZEROS!

"Now, you get my exasperation," he sighed. "But it was a good call from Delia, otherwise you would have spent it all without care." I wanted to protest but I was still in shock. I had too much money! Also, he was kind of right, scratch that he was totally right. "My first advice would be to buy an Xtransceiver, a great communication device with which you can have conference calls, and I recommend you get PokeNav Plus. It has an AreaNav application that shows you the region's map and where you can find the different types of pokemon or registered trainers. With your sense of direction, you surely need it. It also has a DexNav that shows you how many pokemon have collected in your area and a BuzzNav that gives you the most recent news.”

"Wow!" I whispered amazed. "And I can afford them without blowing my account?"

"Ah," he sighed tiredly. "Yes, you can. I'll talk with Delia and have them here by the time you return home."

"Professor," I called out. I second-guessed myself then. I hated what I was going to say but this was the hardest decision I have made yet and one that broke my heart. But they deserve to be happy and be taken care of, something I can't do when there are so many of them. "I need you to set trading deals for 29 of my Tauros, all but the head of the herd."

Both Pikachu and the Professor looked at me as if I had grown a second head. I love all my pokemon and even if I hadn't been given all of them the attention they needed, I would never part ways with them unless they wanted to or had met their family elsewhere. So, me saying that I was going to trade 29 of my pokemon, even if they were all Tauros, was as if I had told them I met Arceus… which given my luck, one of these days will happen.

"Are you sure, my boy?" Professor Oak asked me carefully.

"Yes, they deserve to be happy and to be treated the right way," I answered. "I don't have the time or resources to do that. I know that many of them are itching for a fight and I can't be changing them all the time, otherwise, I would only battle with Tauros, and others prefer a calmer life on a farm or something like that. But just promise me that you will be extra careful with who you trade them with, they need to be good people. No matter how strong the pokemon is. Don't do it and set the trading day for after I return. They deserve to hear it from me and see me one last time." I could feel the tears waiting to roll down my cheeks but I kept them in.

"I will be careful, my boy," he assured me and I could see in his eyes that he had never been prouder of me than at this moment. "What pokemon would you like to trade them for?"

"You know me, Professor. Any pokemon for me is a great pokemon," I chuckled. "I'll leave that to you. I trust you." He looked somehow humbled, maybe because he knows how much my pokemon means to me and how much trust that I am putting in his hands. "But try to find some of the pokemon types that I don't have or don't have many of."

"That 'll do," he replied. "Have a good night my boy, Pikachu."

"Good night Professor/Pi-Pikachu," we said back.

"I hope that I've done the right choice, Pikachu." I sighed tiredly, scratching my friend's cheek.

"Pika," he sighed back, rubbing our cheeks together in comfort.

"Let's go to sleep... We have a long couple of days ahead of us." I told him, walking back to our room.

Primeape, Squirtle, Pidgeot, wait for me. I am coming for you next!


	2. I Professor Oak’s P.O.V

I looked sadly at the crying boy but proudly as well.

Ash had just returned from his last adventure with his Primeape, Squirtle, and Pidgeot. He first went for his Primeape, who had spent the last few years making a name of himself as the Grand Prix Champion of Indigo's Battle Pokemon Tournament. Primeape was happy with his achievement and had finished his training. He also missed his trainer and wanted to spread his knowledge to his other pokemon companions. So, Ash not only got a pokemon back but gained a fighting teacher.

He then went to get his Squirtle, only to find out that the Squirtle Squad is now the Blastoise Squad. His Squirtle has done his job and was eager to get back to his friends. He even paid Sabrina a visit to see his, now Sabrina's, Haunter who ended up having evolved into Gengar. But they both decided that staying with Sabrina was the best choice.

Pidgeot… Well, she was a little bit harder from what Ash had told me. He had to catch the Fearow that has been tormenting the pokemon and trainers in Route 1 and then get him to Viridian City's Pokemon Center for rehabilitation. With that done, the Spearow flock was disbanded. She then accepted to come back with Ash, as a few Pidgey had already evolved into Pidgeot and they could take care of the flock in her stead.

But even if he had three of his lost pokemon back, today he had to say goodbye to 29. This lead him to be cuddled by his pokemon as he cried his heart out. Not that anyone could blame him. He has always been attached to his pokemon and he had done his very best to stay strong and tell them goodbye with a smile. But now that they were gone, he could cry and mourn them.

I had never been this proud of him. He could have trained them alongside his other pokemon, have them on rotation and everything, but he had truly matured. He had made the right but hard choice and let them go. He allowed them to find happiness… Even if it is away from him.

Surprisingly enough, the first one to comfort him was Charizard. He dragged Ash to his lap and enveloped him with his wings, Pikachu, as always, jumped on his shoulder. Then came the Tauros Herd Alpha, laying his head on Ash’s lap, followed by the rest of Ash’s pokemon. I believe that Tauros had the biggest effect on him, the same Alpha of the herd he had just traded away trying to comfort him… Ash just couldn't handle it anymore and cried to his heart's content.

 ** _'Tauros has been expecting this for a long time,'_** my Alakazam told me telepathically. _**'He has known that his herd was not happy with this leisure life they had been living. But they did not complain when he was the only one that got called, after all he is… was the head of the herd. The strongest one, as such it was his honor and duty to answer to their trainer's call but he also knew that they all loved their master too much the be one to say goodbye. If anything, Tauros hates himself for not being strong enough, to have this duty and weight fall on his trainer's shoulders. Tauros knows that his master has always been the strongest human that he has ever known. He was the one who always said goodbye first so that they didn't have to. All so that his pokemon could be happy.'** _I looked at my psychic pokemon in shock. _**'Don't worry, master. Tauros doesn't blame the young master. He only feels blessed at having been chosen by his human.'**_

"Ash truly is an incredible trainer… I only hope that he realizes that and doesn't let this blame eat him away," I murmured. "Well, let's get this over with," I said, noticing that Ash had finally calmed down and approached him and his herd of pokemon. "My boy, these arrived yesterday," I told him, handing him a black Xtransceiver and a blue PokeNav Plus. "The trades have also been finalized."

His eyes watered again but this time he kept the tears in. “Then, could you present my new pokemon please?”

"It would be my honor," I replied with a smile. "First, I traded the four lieutenants of your Tauros to gym leaders. They were the ones with the biggest move pools and with the most fighting experience." I noticed that Tauros was looking exceptionally happy and proud by those news. "Norman decided to trade your Tauros for a Zangoose. Then, I was contacted by Whitney who also wanted one in exchange for a Miltank. Seeing this I contacted Lenora, the Normal Type Gym Leader from Unova, who told me she had always wanted to have a Tauros and caught a Honedge just for this occasion."

"A Honedge?" Ash asked me confused, not that I blamed him as they are a pokemon from a faraway region.

"A Honedge is a Steel/Ghost dual type pokemon from the Kalos Region. She had to trade another pokemon to get them." I answered him. "You don't have any of those types, so I thought that it was a smart choice."

"It was. Thank you, Professor," he answered, with a small smile.

It hurt my heart to see the normally bright and energetic boy so down and mellowed. I could see that Ash’s pokemon felt the same way. But I believe that once I let him meet his new pokemon, he will brighten up once more.

“What surprised me was that Lenora told me she was retiring and giving her gym to her nephew Cheren, who also wanted a Tauros on his pokemon roaster. He caught a Granbull for you two to trade. Seeing as you have no Fairy type in your roaster I accepted." I continued. "As you wanted good trainers or good people to trade with, as one should, I asked the same Gym Leaders for some recommendations. Norman came up with quite a lot, eight to be exact." Ash looked at me surprised, making me chuckle. “He worked quite hard for that, maybe because you have been taking care of his children for two years. But still he found eight trainers who would love to have a Tauros on their roaster, especially since they are so rare in Hoenn. You got a Skarmory, a Mawile, a Nidorino, a Nidorina, a Houndour, a Poochyena, a Trapinch and a Swablu from that trade. Two more Steel Types, another fairy, two future heavy hitters, seeing as you only have Snorlax in that area, two Dark Types and two future Dragon Types.”

"Wow, those were quite good trades, Professor. I now have at least one pokemon for each type except rock," Ash commented, his pokemon looking quite pleased with the mention of their new friends.

"Well, that was fixed with the two trades Whitney fixed for us," I told him. "A pair of twins, who traded their Tyrogue and Slugma for two Tauros." Primeape and Heracross looked happy at the mention of another Fighting Type joining the team. "Said twins' parents own a farm which was in need of a few Tauros. I traded them three of the calm Tauros for a family of eeveelutions that has been living in their field for a while. An Espeon, a Sylveon and their baby Eevee."

"A Sylveon? What kind of eveelution is that? I've never heard of it,” Ash asked, looking more motivated with each mention of his new family.

"It's quite a rare one, more commonly found in the Kalos Region or Alola Islands," I replied. “It’s a Fairy Type eeveelution.”

"That's so cool!" He exclaimed happily.

"Lenora found a good trainer who has been having some issues with his starter. From what she told me, it was similar as the ones Charizard and you used to have." I informed him, said fire pokemon tightened his hold on his trainer. I am truly happy that those two fixed their issues and were back to how close they've been when Charizard was still a Charmander. “Froakie is a rare Water Type pokemon in these regions and his last evolution is a Water/Dark dual type, with your expertise on the issue I thought it would be a good trade.”

"It was. I'll take care of him," he promised me, patting Charizard's arm.

“The farming family contacted their cousins in Galar, who were having a similar issue as them. A few wild pokemon were living on their terrain but they didn't have the heart to kick them out. They would love to have a few Tauros for field work and to find these pokemon a good home." I continued. “We traded three Tauros for two Galarian Slowpoke and a Polteageist.”

“Galarian Slowpoke? Polteageist?” He asked me quite confused.

“Polteageist is a Ghost Type pokemon from Galar and what I mean with Galarian Slowpoke, is what we Professors call a regional variant. Pokemon that change their typing depending the region they were born in. Like Slowpoke, that is a Water/Psychic pokemon in Kanto but a Poison/Psychic pokemon in Galar. You needed at least one more Ghost type and another couple of Psychic pokemon could never hurt.”

“Wow, I didn’t know about that. That’s so cool!” He exclaimed, sounding more like himself. His pokemon nodding alongside, feeling more energetic now that their trainer felt happier. “That means that there are five more Tauros for trade.”

“For those I called my old friend Professor Serbal, who is the Regional Professor in Sinnoh. He recommended me five trainers that he had sponsored, who traded me the Tauros for a Female Snorunt, a Kricketune, a Nincada, a Plusle and a Minun. You can’t only have one Ice Type or one Electric Type. It was quite funny really when two different trainers who did not know each other offered me a Plusle and a Minun for trade. As they are very similar species of pokemon, it is even theorized that they are related. A good combo for dual pokemon fights," I advised him, "and you needed more Bug typed in your roster. Nincada being quite an interesting pokemon as when he evolves, his shed skin becomes another pokemon."

"What? Really?!" Ash exclaimed shocked. His pokemon looking confused just like him.

"Yeah, it leaves you with a Bug/Flying type, who fits your team motto of speed is the essence, and a Bug/Ghost type," I informed him.

"Those are pretty cool pokemon. Thank you, Professor. You must have worked very hard. I really appreciate it," he thanked me, with a warm and soft smile that had my heart aching for this brave and strong boy that I love like my own.

"I knew you would, which is why I did my best to find them the best homes I could, " I simply replied. "What do you say, shall we welcome your new pokemon?" I offered.

"I would love to," he answered.

And as I watched them all play together and get to know each other; I knew my hard work had paid off in the best way possible.


	3. I Pikachu’s P.O.V

I’m happy. Ash was finally starting to act more like himself. All of us felt horrible for making him lose at the Ever Grande Conference, especially after his change in behavior afterward. Doubting himself at every turn, thinking that it was his reason that we lost and that he was not a good trainer.

 _Bullshit!_ I growled in my head.

Ash is the best trainer and friend anyone could ask for. Patient, caring, and loving. One that would never push any of us into evolving if we don’t want to, even if that would mean he would have stronger pokemon on his team. This is why we all love him and treasure him. Which is why it breaks our heart whenever we see him so lost and sad…

A feeling that the new guys rapidly shared with us. Making their incorporation to the family fast and smooth. Although, it was also tiring for most of us, as we were not used to the fast pace training Ash had incorporated.

Plusle and Minun were under my tutelage. Milktank and Zangoose took their training from Tauros and Snorlax, the normal types in the team were rapidly becoming the most versatile fighters we have. Eevee and Snorunt practiced most of the time with Glalie, Eevee seems to have decided to evolve into a Glaceon. Tyrogue was taken as a disciple of Primeape just like Heracross, whenever he was not training Kricketune.

Poochyena and Houndour took their training from Espeon, who surprisingly enough did not need much training before reaching the level of us, veterans, both canines already learned every elemental fang attack, plus Bite and Crunch. Sylveon just like his mate did not need much training and decided to be the teacher of every new Fairy Type member. Slugma and Torkoal became training buddies, just like Corpish and Kingler. Now every new fire, water, grass and flying member was taken under the tutelage of Charizard, Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Pidgeot. Yes, even Sceptile, who even if he is stronger than Bulbasaur, does not possess the refine control over grass moves that Bulbasaur has. The rest trained mostly only with Ash, whenever they were not learning new moves from other pokemon.

This last month, to say simply, was hellish- that’s for sure. We also knew that the following two before leaving for Sinnoh would be as bad or even worse. But we also knew that it was the training we needed, and it was already showing results. Bayleef had evolved into her final form Meganium. Cyndaquil, Totodile and Corpish received the push they needed to finally evolve into Quilava, Croconaw and Crawdaunt- which we all have been waiting for a long time. From the new fellas, Nincada had evolved into Ninjask and Shedinja, surprising no one, as bug pokemon had a rapid growth when trained correctly by a trainer. Who did surprise us was Slugma, I mean they might not be difficult pokemon to evolve but still only one month of training and he was already a Magcargo.

All these evolutions had the rest of the pokemon pumping with energy. Houndour and Poochyena fighting at every turn, trying to push the other into evolution, just like they were doing right now. Luckily, they kept the fighting mostly whenever Ash or Bulbasaur was around. The others use that energy… for other things.

It seems like every pokemon in Ash’s team was pairing up. Meganium with Sceptile, Nidorina and Nidorino, Tauros and Milktank, Kricketune and Heracross, Plusle and Minun, Skarmory and Pidgeot, Snorunt clearly has a crush on Glalie, both Slowpoke were already together before getting here and I am sure that once Houndour and Poochyena stop focusing so much into evolving romance will surely bloom between them.

It made me feel lonely… and sad, honestly. I missed Umbreon. She’s normally around Professor Oak’s coral at this time of the year. Then again, she’s not interested in me, other than for using me as a reliever during her heats… she made that clear last year.

“ ** _Ah._** ” I sighed; it sucks to be in one-sided love.

“I’m back everyone!” My head whipped to the side, as my trainer returned from his trip to Celadon City.

I had wanted to go with him, like we always do, but he wanted me here to keep everyone in line and training, as I am supposed to as his starter. He did take a couple of the new ones with him: Froakie and Swablu.

“ ** _You’re back!_** _”_ I exclaimed, claiming back my usual spot on his shoulder.

The rest of the pokemon followed my suit, returning to our trainer’s side. All except for Houndour and Poochyena who were locked in a Tackle fight, skull bashing against the other, growling threateningly.

“They are at it again, eh,” Ash commented, in a deadpanned way.

“ ** _What else did you expect of brutes like them?_** _”_ Espeon huffed, sneering at the show of brute force.

She’s quite the character… refinement and grace are a must if you want to be in her presence. Otherwise, you’ll be less than dirt under her paw.

“Don’t worry Your Grace, I’ll stop them for you.” Ash chuckled, kneeling in front of her to scratch her behind her ears.

“ ** _And that’s why you are such a good subject,_** ” she mewled. “ ** _Right there!_** _”_ Many of us laughed at the scene, of course, Ash would be able to tame a queen like her. “ ** _What’s that smell?_** ” She suddenly stopped, getting closer to sniff Ash’s neck.

 _Now that she mentions it, what is that smell?_ I asked myself. _It’s as if flowers are coming from Ash._

“Oh, the smell? The fragrances of Erica’s shop are quite strong. When I left the store, my clothes and I ended up smelling like flowers. I bought some perfumes as a present for mom, May, and Misty. I also got some fragrances for the team, to take our grooming to the next level.” He explained with a smile, making many of the girls exclaim in excitement.

Making my heartache. How long has it been since I last saw a smile as honest as that? I nuzzled our cheeks together in comfort, mewling when he scratched my other one. This time I’ll take better care of him.

However, our celebration party got cut short as a bright shine came from the fight before us.

“ ** _Oh, no._** ” Espeon moaned. “ ** _Don’t evolve!_** ”

Sylveon chuckled at his mate’s distress and snuggled her to his side, with the help of his ribbons. 

Soon the light disappeared, leaving behind a Houndoom and a Myghtyena, howling in victory.

“ ** _At least, they’ll stop fighting at every turn._** ” I sighed, trying to stay positive even if I wanted to moan and sob like Espeon.

“Wow! Congrats guys!” Ash exclaimed, rushing towards them.

I jumped off knowing well what was coming next. Just as I predicted, Ash fell on the ground as he was assaulted with licks by both Houndoom and Myghtyena. Ash laughed, trying to get them off but failing.

“ ** _We did it! We evolved! Thank you!_** ” Mightyena exclaimed, licking Ash all over again.

“ ** _Praise us! Praise us!_** ” Houndoom lost all sense of himself and his pride, acting like a pet instead of the Dark Type pokemon he is.

“I got it! I got it!” He laughed, sitting up with both of them trying to take a position on his lap. “Well done! I am so proud of you two!” Both canine pokemon howled once more before throwing themselves at Ash again.

“ ** _Arceus help me,_** ” I sighed, shaking my head. “ ** _Ok, you two, stop it!”_** I ordered them.

They, surprisingly, obeyed me. I was excepting to fight them and assert my dominance as the Alpha of the strange combo of pokemon we have, now that they’ve evolved. But it seems that their canine genes are keeping them in line for now, obeying my position out of respect and loyalty in equal parts. But still, I’ll keep an eye out on them, Dark Types like to be in charge, the same way I’ll have to take care of the dragons once they do evolve.

“Thanks, Pikachu,” he laughed, sitting back up, nuzzling me once I returned to his shoulder. “Ok, everyone, gather round!” He called out, they did as asked even if some of them looked at him in curiosity. “This last month was hectic, I know. Many left us… but many joined us too. Trying to advance in strength and ability, while trying to catch the new ones with the rest. Many evolved and had to get used to their new forms and the power bust that comes with evolution. I can’t be any prouder than I am!” His words made us all burst in pride and happiness, there is no gift or better feeling than having made our trainer proud. “However, some of you had been training before you came to me and were already at the team's level. We trained you and you got better, but there’s only so much I can do in your actual forms… so, I made a quick trip to Celadon City Department Store and got all we need to make that happen.” He told us, raising a bag as he smiled at us. “Nidorino and Nidorina, step forwards guys.”

The Poison Types couldn’t have been faster as they take their position in the middle of the circle created by pokemon, with enough distance between them. So, when they take their new form they won’t end up them bumping into each other. Ash stepped forwards and placed two Moon Stones in front of them. They looked up at Ash in gratefulness and excitement. Ash said nothing, he just smiled at them, patting their heads, before stepping back and letting them take their time. They looked at Ash once more, at each other and then at the rest of the pokemon, who smiled back at them, and then at the same time touched their respective Moon Stones. Soon a bright light appeared again, leaving us with another two newly evolved pokemon. Nidoqueen and Nidoking roared in excitement, looking at their new bodies in happiness.

Ash let them have their moment and get comfortable with their new forms before turning towards Eevee and gesturing him to step forward, towards the now empty circle. Eevee perked in happiness, turning towards his parents before rushing towards Ash and attacking his face with kisses. Ash laughed at the cute pokemon, before placing him on the ground and taking out an Ice Stone from the bag. Espeon and Sylveon stepped forward, to be near their son as he took an important step in his life, but stayed far away, as this was his moment. Eevee soon was no longer an Eevee but a Glaceon. We all roared in happiness for one of the youngest members of our misfit pack. Glaceon was rapidly engulfed by his dad’s ribbons as this one cuddled him and his mom.

“Glalie,” he called out, taking us by surprise, as Glalie was already on his final form. “Did Snorunt master Ice Beam and Shadow Ball as I asked you?” Glalie perked up and made a twirl. “I’ll take that as a yes,” he chuckled. “Snorunt, can you step forward?” Shyly but determinedly, she did, looking at Ash hopefully. “Do you think you are ready for this?” He asked, rising a Dawn Stone on his hand. Snorunt jumped in excitement and nodded her head furiously, all her shyness gone at the prospect of being able to evolve. “Ok,” he chuckled. “Then, it’s all yours,” he said, placing it on the ground for her to grab.

Which she did at once, turning into a beautiful ethereal Froslass. She twirled on the air, liking her new body and rapidly flying towards Glalie, after giving Ash a cold kiss.

 _Lucky bastard_ , I grumbled in my head, as I watched Glalie blush at the attention of the pretty ghost.

“Now all that’s left is deciding which one of you wants to become a Slowbro and who wants to be a Slowking,” Ash said looking at a couple of Slowpoke, placing Galarica Wreath on the ground and a Galarica Cuff besides it. “I had to ask Nurse Joy for this item, but she found a couple of trainers willing to trade one for a Thunder Stone in Galar. Alakazam’s Teleportation Messenger Service is the best.”

“ ** _Thunder Stone?_** ” I tilted my head “ ** _The one Nurse Joy gave us after Lt. Surge defeated us?_** ”

“Yes, that one,” Ash replied, I loved how he always seems to understand me… well, any of us really. "I also traded the one Togetic had dug up from the beach when she was still a Togepi."

The male Slowpoke took his time but at the end he touched the Galarica Wreath, evolving into a Slowking. Before the female one grabbed the Galarica Cuff and…

“ ** _That’s a Galarian Slowbro?!_** ” I exclaimed, alongside many other pokemon.

“ ** _There’s something wrong with that evolution!_** ” Squirtle shouted, pointing at the newly Slowbro “ ** _Isn’t that supposed to be on her tail?! Why is it on her hand?!_** ”

 _ **"His head! Where's his head?!"**_ Glaceon shouted horrified, pointing at the Galarian Slowking.

“Hahaha,” Ash laughed at our reactions. “Surprised guys? That’s how their Galarian forms are supposed to look like,” he informed us.

I glared at our trainer and shocked him, he ended up twitching on the floor. That’s what he deserves for teasing us. I turned my back to him and called everyone up.

“ ** _Those who just evolved we will be training to get you used to your new bodies and abilities, the rest can go and relax for the rest of the day._** ” Just like that everyone, but the newly evolved pokemon left.

Well, everyone except for Espeon and Sylveon who stayed for his son, Glalie who Froslass did not allow to leave, and Poltergeist who stayed for their friends. I was about to start giving out orders when a familiar scent caught my nose.

“Nice team you’ve got there Ashy-boy,” Gary whistled, looking at my pack in appreciation, before getting into a heated discussion with Ash like always.

Not that I cared, all my attention was on the Dark Type pokemon in front of me, besides the clearly newly evolved Jolteon, who’s supposed to be a stranger to me but whose scent is familiar. My eyes turned from one Eeveelution to the other, not being able to keep the betrayal from them.

“ _ **You did not,**_ ” I growled lowly, using all the energy in me to keep from shouting. “ _ **Tell me you did not do what I think you did.**_ ”

“ _ **Let me explain,**_ ” she cut me off rapidly.

“ _ **Explain what?!**_ ” I shouted, getting everyone’s attention, not that I cared. “ _ **Explain how you kept your pregnancy a secret? Or maybe that you did not tell me you had my daughter? That you trained her and had her evolve without even letting me meet her when she was still an Eevee?!**_ ”

“ _ **I couldn’t…**_ ” She tried to excuse herself, but I did not let her lie to my face anymore.

“ _ **You couldn’t?!**_ ” I shouted incredulously. “ _ **Your owner has an Alakazam for Arceus's sake! Of course, you could! You simply did not! Try to explain that!**_ ” Umbreon just looked at the ground in shame. “ _ **That’s what I thought**_ ” I chuckled humorlessly.

I had always wanted to win a discussion against her, but I never thought victory would be so bitter.


	4. I Bulbasaur's P.O.V

“ ** _Come on warrior! I know you can do better!_** ” I chuckled at Primeape’s shouting, which has become a norm in the past few days. “ ** _Raise that defense! Strengthen your attack!_** ”

Another month of arduous training has passed. Luckily for Espeon, both Houndoom and Myghtyena had calmed down after evolving. Still fixed on getting stronger, but no longer fighting at every turn… they preferred to fuck the tension away. Unluckily for him, a couple of weeks later both Swablu and Trapinch evolved into Altaria and Vibrava respectively, making Tyrogue, Honedge, and Froakie the only ones who have not evolved yet, and wanted to, since the training regime had started. Ever since, not wanting to be upstaged, Primeape has been pushing Tyrogue to his limits.

The thing is that he decided to evolve into a Hitmontop, the most difficult evolution form he could achieve. So, getting the training regime right and raising both his defense and attack so they would be equal… was hard and time-consuming. Primeape could deal with hard, he was a Fighting Type after all, but being patient? That’s something he could not do even if you paid him with a thousand berries!

Luckily Honedge was more like me, a noble pokemon and someone who took her time without rushing. She understands that our trainer is new to ghosts and still doesn’t know the best way to train them. She is also enjoying being Ash’s weapon during his training sessions. Oh, yes, Ash did not only train us during these two months, but he also trained himself. Primeape and Heracross quite enjoyed finding out about that plan, taking him as an apprentice alongside Tyrogue. Whenever he decided to train his swordsmanship Honedge claims the position as his weapon. From all the new pokemon those two and Froakie seem the closest to Ash. Not that he loves them more or that the others don’t get along. It’s simply that the three of them formed a bond as fighting kindred spirits.

Talking about Froakie…

“ ** _Shouldn’t you be fighting alongside them?_** ” I asked the blue frog pokemon by my side, as I pointed with my vine at our trainer fencing against Heracross with Honedge next to Primeape and Tyrogue.

“ ** _My species needs to learn to meditate early,_** ” he answered me, his eyes kept closed. “ ** _We are from the ninja pokemon line. We need to possess an inner focus more advanced than normal pokemon, even if we could never reach the level of a psychic’s mind. As we become a Water/Dark dual-type by the end of our evolutionary line, is better to learn it in our early stages._** ” Froakie explained, calmly. “ ** _It was Master’s idea and I agree. Espeon has been of great help._** ”

I chuckled, lying down on the grass, enjoying the sun. How much has our trainer grown? I still remember the kind and good meaning but inexperienced and naive trainer I decided to join. It is kind of lonely seeing him all grown up and responsible, but then I think of Kingler, Muk, Squirtle, Primeape, and Pidgeot and I can’t do anything but smile. Then came all these new, unusual, and powerful pokemon and I thought I would be forgotten, the small Bulbasaur that will not evolve. But Ash looked at me and put me in charge, Pikachu’s second in command, and promised me a battle on the first gym in Sinnoh.

When all these pokemon kept on evolving I thought he would want me to evolve as well, adding up another new powerful member on his team. But he then came back from Celadon City and brought us, Squirtle and me, each a collar with an Everstone. I felt all the weight I’ve been feeling from preventing myself from evolving disappeared, making it easier to train and grow in strength without worrying about evolution. He then kneeled before us and apologized, saying he should have done this a long time ago. It was then I realized Ash might have matured, but he was still the same Ash he has always been.

The same trainer who would never force any of their pokemon to evolve, even if it meant a secure victory. He could have easily had the three Kanto Starters final evolution by the time of the Indigo League, maybe even advance until the semi-finals, but he still put our needs before his dreams. The same boy who can’t see what kind of treasure he is and would rather blame himself as a trainer than any of his pokemon.

“ ** _Nee, Froakie, why did you decide to stay?_** ” I asked the newest member of our family, finally startling him out of his meditation. “ ** _You had never stayed with one trainer before, but you chose Ash._** ”

“ ** _I… I believe that you can understand my reasoning, the same way any of Master’s pokemon would,_** ” he replied, slowly, his gaze turning towards the smiling Ash. “ ** _As you said,_** _ **I chose him. I once thought that all I wanted was an experienced trainer who could bring the best out of me and help me evolve. That’s why I always left those newbies the black-haired Professor kept giving me too. Then I got traded here as a result, not even an explanation, just a Poke Ball exchanged. Not that I expected anything more, my last trainer is a good kid who loves pokemon, but a boy that only just started his training, so I never bothered to listen to him. Not to mention, that when I was released by Master, I found myself surrounded by so many strong pokemon, got told about all the adventures and achievements from my new trainer… I had finally gotten my wish. I was only thankful for my previous trainer.**_” He continued, eyes wandering off deep in thought. “ ** _At first, I only stayed because of all the strong pokemon around. I wanted to be one of them. Especially, when everyone kept on evolving after only a month of training. That’s when things started to piss me off. Everyone kept on evolving but me. I could not understand why I was not able to evolve, I wanted to be stronger… I believed that strength came with evolution. So, I could not understand why Master Pikachu was the first in command after Master rather than someone like Master Charizard or Master Sceptile. Or why, he chose you as the second in command. Then one day I wandered off and saw the mock battles Master held between the original team members. It was then that my eyes were open._**

 ** _I saw Master Pikachu take down Master Charizard, Master Squirtle defeat Master Primeape and you defeat Mistress Pidgeot, even with the type disadvantage. It was then that I started listening to the stories the rest told about their journeys with Master. How he had saved most of them from unfortunate fates, how he had released his Butterfree so he could go off with his mate and Lapras to go with her family. How he had let Squirtle, Primeape, and Pidgeot leave so they could fulfill their dreams before returning to him. Even if it meant that he would lose very strong pokemon and most likely put off his dream a couple of years behind schedule. How it was you and Master Squirtle that had decided not to evolve, and he had allowed it. It was then that Master Charizard visited me and told me his story. He had noticed me… moping as had called it._** ”

I chuckled at Charizard’s comment but kept quiet, his meddling was surprising.

“ ** _He told me that he had once thought the same as I did. He had wanted to evolve to become stronger so that he would never have to suffer the same fate as he had once suffered. That he had looked down on the rest of his teammates because they did not hold the same power as him… how he had caused Master his first League loss because of his pride and cockiness. How Master still never gave up on him and nursed him back to health during their Orange League Adventures, the same way he had done when he used to be a Charmander. The story of how he turned his back to the trainer that saved him and treated him as an equal to then only realizes his mistake too late and losing his precious treasure a few months later when Master left him on the Charizard Valley._** ”

I looked at Froakie in shock, I had never expected it to affect Charizard so much. But he had truly taken it personally, even Ash leaving him at Charizard Valley so that he could be with his mate felt like abandonment for being a bad pokemon. I’ll have to talk with Pikachu and then have Espeon translate, we can’t leave things like this.

“ ** _He wanted me to learn the lesson early, so I would not make the same mistakes. I did. I learned that there is no need to rush into evolution and that evolution does not mean you won’t be defeated, that power is not the same thing as strength. To never underestimate anyone because of their appearances. I learned that Master doesn’t choose his pokemon, but they choose him. That we are equals and if I want to put an input in my training Master will listen… and that’s the kind of trainer I want. I want to stand beside Master not because he chose me, or because my previous trainer traded me off, but because I_** _ **chose him. I will defend him and fight his enemies at his command until my last breath.**_” He swore.

“ ** _Good to know we are on the same page,”_** I smiled at the frog pokemon, who nodded back and returned to his meditation.

My gaze went back to my trainer and smiled at the happy picture he made, smiling and cheering with the Fighting Types and Honedge. This is the trainer we would give our lives for. And everyone understands that, even the new guys. Ash deserves the world and we are going to give it to him.

My smile dropped when I saw Pikachu jump on Ash’s shoulder, the usual image tainted by the presence of the Jolteon by Ash’s heels. Don’t get me wrong, we all love the new member of the family, she is so much like her dad that it’s impossible not to love her. Her mom on the other side…

I glared towards Professor Oak’s ranch, wishing I could tear her apart for what she did to kind, sweet, loving Pikachu. Even if she hadn’t wanted him as a mate, keeping their daughter a secret was crossing a line we will never forgive her. I still hear his sobbing late at night, when think it’s only Ash and him. She broke his heart and danced all over it. The bitch still hadn’t apologized!

 _Fucking prideful dark bitch_ , I scoffed in my head.

What’s worse Gary had decided to spend the summer in Pallet Town, trying to learn what he can from his grandfather’s ranch. _Blackie_ simply can’t get a clue and leave Pikachu alone. I get that she wants to stay close and keep her daughter company, but why does she keep on trying to talk to Pikachu? We had all made sure that she doesn’t get one hundred feet from Pikachu. Her teammates don’t bother stopping us, even they are disappointed in her. Her own daughter is angry!

It doesn’t matter now. Luckily, Gary accepted to share custody over Jolteon and she is coming with them for the _while Sinnoh_ journey. That will give them enough time to bond.

We will not only keep Ash safe but Pikachu too.


	5. I Jolteon's P.O.V

I am so happy! I finally got to meet daddy! Not to mention, the trainer Gary-oniichan is always talking about. He is as cute as Onii-chan said he was. Everyone is so nice here, not that Gary-oniichan’s team weren’t. But Gary-oniichan’s pokemon have their own groups and even if they were nice, you always felt left out if you tried to join them for anything. Ash-oniichan’s team is a big family! You never felt left out or intruding, they all welcome you with open arms and play with you. They even told me to call them aunt and uncle!

What I did not like is that they are constantly trying to keep daddy and mommy way from each other… but I also understood. What mommy did isn't nice, she kept me from daddy!

Other than that, I love feeling so welcomed and hearing all about Daddy and Ash-oniichan’s adventures. They met so many Legendaries! Daddy even defeated a Regice! Uncle Charizard has also defeated an Articuno! I can’t wait for Sinnoh and meet the Legendaries there.

What’s best is that Ash-oniichan has three other eeveelutions! I’ve never met another eeveelution than mommy. Aunt Espeon and Uncle Sylveon are so pretty! Glaceon is so cool! Pretty handsome too…

They taught me so much! I learned all the elemental fang moves and Bite. Daddy even taught me Discharge and Thunder Wave. He is now teaching me Thunderbolt, his signature move! He had me trying to hit the newly evolved Hitmontop-oniichan.

Or at least, he was until Grandpa Oak came to talk with Ash-oniichan.

“Professor Oak, what is it?” Ash-oniichan asked.

He raised his hand, Hitmontop-oniichan and I understood the gesture and stopped our training exercise. Daddy moved from his stop next to us and jumped on his usual spot on Ash-oniichan’s shoulder.

“Ash, my boy, I just wanted to inform you about something so you’ll have time to think about it rather than have them ambush you,” Grandpa Oak said, now we were all confused. “Scott, Champion Lance, and Head Ranger Charles are coming to Pallet Town with a preposition each.”

Now Ash-oniichan and Pikachu were looking at Grandpa with their jaws dropped. Why? Who are they? What’s going on? All I know is that it seems important.

“Champion Lance/ ** _Champion Lance_**?!” Ash-oniichan and daddy shouted together, making me moan slightly- they were too loud!

“Yes, Champion Lance,” Grandpa Oak chuckled. “When they heard that your training was coming to an end and you were leaving for Sinnoh in less than a week, they decided to come and offer you a job proposal. Champion Lance wants you to join his Elite G-men, but not any squad but the one he is in charge of directly.”

“Really?!” Ash-oniichan gasped, shocked.

“Yes, really. What else did you expect? With all the good you’ve done for regions and the Legendaries, not to mention your win at the Battle Frontier, he would be crazy to not want you on his squad.” Grandpa told him warmly, making Ash-oniichan blush. He looked so cute blushing! I now understand why Gary-oniichan loves teasing him. “Scott wants you to be a Frontier Brain and Head Ranger Charles wants to become a Head Ranger yourself.”

“What’s the difference between a normal Ranger and a Head Ranger?” Ash-oniichan asked.

“Well, you know how trainers are divided into Beginner Trainers, Advanced Trainers, Ace Trainers, Elite Four, and Champions?” Grandpa Oak replied with a question himself, I got closer wanting to know more.

“Yes, I do,” Ash replied and explained further afterward. “Beginners are those who had only just began their journey and need to become Advanced Trainers they need to get eight Gym Badges and have at least participated in one League Conference or five ribbons and one Grand Festival. Most people stay as Beginners even if they’ve been trainers for years, as they participate in neither the Gym Trials nor in Contests. Then to become an Ace Trainer you need to have won at least two Grand Tournaments, they have been approved by the Pokemon League- even if they are not Regional Conferences. Then you’ll need to train and become an Elite Four member or the Champion, to advance further. You can only become one if you are a trainer and in your own region. Coordinators can only advance to the Ace Rank.”

“Exactly! I am so happy to see that my lessons with you have paid off,” Grandpa said proudly, making Ash-oniichan blush again. “Beginners cannot become Rangers, and Rangers are classified into three categories: Normal, Ace and Head. Normal Rangers need to be at least of an Advances level, and you can only become an Ace Rangers if you are an Ace Trainer and have three years of experience under your belt. Talent and experience-wise, there is no difference between an Ace Ranger and a Head Ranger. Head Ranger’s simply work as the Captain of a Ranger Precinct or they work for the Ranger Commission which is in charge of the Rangers all over the regions. They are offering you the position to be in charge of your own Precinct.”

“But why? I am not an Ace Trainer or have three years of experience as a Ranger?!” Ash-oniichan exclaimed, stunned.

“ ** _Ash, really,_** ” daddy sighed, shaking his head. “ ** _Think before you speak, buddy._** ”

“ ** _Daddy, you know what Grandpa meant?_** ” I asked him.

“ ** _Yes, princess. So, would Ash if he wasn’t so surprised,_** ” he answered me.

“Ash, you won the Orange Islands Challenge and the Battle Frontier, that makes you an Ace Trainer,” Grandpa explained with a deadpan. “The paperwork is already through and you’ve been an Honorary Ranger since you saved that Larvitar Egg and they’ve realized how much you’ve done during your travels. Those are at least three years of service.”

“I did not…” Ash-oniichan mumbled.

“Ash, I won’t tell you what to do about Scott and Champion Lance, but can I give you an advice about Head Ranger Charles?” Ash-oniichan nodded his head, speechless. “Even if you don’t accept his offer consider becoming an Ace Ranger,” he said, startling both Ash-oniichan and daddy. “You already act like one, helping out pokemon, people, and Legendaries alike wherever you go. Problems seem to simply follow you around, being an Ace Trainer won’t change anything. Because unlike Normal Rangers they don’t need to work under a Precinct, they can work directly under the Ranger Commission and travel around being called to missions if they are close to any problem. It’s not like you would refuse to help people, it’s in your blood just like battling. Being an Ace Ranger would give you a job to fall back into, a salary, bonuses and the legal right to apprehend criminals. Not to mention, that whenever you bit more than you can chew… knowing you have the Rangers to have your back will make your mom and me feel better.”

“Ah, that’s a low blow, Professor.” Ash-oniichan sighed, making Grandpa chuckle.

“Can you blame me with all the troubles you get yourself into?” Grandpa Oak replied. “Just… think about it. They’ll be coming by in two days,” he said, before returning to his lab.

“Nee, Pikachu,” Ash-oniichan called out to daddy. “What do we do now?”

“ ** _Don’t worry about it,_** ” daddy comforted him, rubbing their cheeks together. “ ** _I’ll… we’ll all accept anything you decide and follow you to the ends of the earth if needed._** ”

Watching them both, I could only wish I could have that kind of closeness. The same closeness I can see between mommy and Gary-oniichan. But for now, I’ll wait patiently until that day comes.


	6. II Ash's P.O.V

“See that Jolteon?” I told the little princess, pointing out the window. “That’s Sinnoh,” I said, smiling at the waitress as she placed the food in front of my pokemon and me. “We are getting close.”

“Jolteon!” She replied, excitedly, before turning towards her plate.

I was finally on my way to Sinnoh, on a boat towards Sunyshore City. After last week’s meeting, I decided to stay on the lower floors enjoying a calm trip and good food. I still can’t believe how well they took my reply.

_“Seeing how nervous you look I believe that Professor Oak spilled the beans,” commented Scott with an amused smirk, not that it calmed me down. “So, did you make a decision?”_

_“I…” I looked at the three powerful men in front of me nervously, still not believing that all of them all wanted **me.** “I can’t accept being neither a G-men nor a Head Ranger,” I finally said. “I love to travel, see new places, meet new people, get into new adventures. My pokemon do too. As a Head Ranger, I would be restricted to my Precinct’s location for most of the time and as a G-men, I would only go to where I am needed, I am not comfortable with neither of those choices… but if I can I would like to become an Ace Ranger. I am always bumping into dangerous situations and crime syndicates, being a Ranger will give me the right to apprehend them if necessary. It’s not like I would ever turn my back on someone in need. If I am already doing the job, may as well do it officially.” I smiled, cheekily, Pikachu beaming on my shoulder._

_Head Ranger Charles smiled warmly and nodded his head: “We would love to have you as an Ace Ranger, Ash. Welcome to the family.”_

_“Thank you,” I smiled, excitedly._

_“Ah,” Champion Lance sighed, but did not look disappointed or sad, it was as if he was already expecting that answer. “With all those crazy situations you get involve with and all the Legendaries I would have liked to have you involved with the League, but having you work with the Rangers is better than nothing.”_

_“Well, thanks for that,” Head Ranger Charles teased, making us all chuckle._

_“Congratulations on becoming both an Ace Trainer and an Ace Ranger, Ash.” Champion Lance smiled at me, making my heart ache with warmth._

**_The_ ** _Indigo Champion recognized me!_

_“What about my offer?” Asked Scott. “You don’t have to worry about traveling, as you only need to be on your facility whenever a challenger appears. And there’s teleportation for that.”_

_“I know,” I sighed. “I would like to accept the offer…” Scott started to beam. “But only after I win a Regional League Conference.” If it weren’t such a serious conversation, it would have been very funny how fast his mood deflated. “I will only become a Frontier Brain if I can prove to myself that I truly deserve it, by winning a Conference.”_

_Scott looked as if he wanted to say something, to protest, but Lance shook his head and beamed at me: “That drive to prove oneself is the same one every Master possesses.” I almost started to cry at his words. “We won’t insult that by disrespecting your decision.” Even if he was looking at me, I knew that he meant those words for Scott. “By the way, here,” he placed a box on the table between us. “A gift is always given by the League to those who have reached the Ace Trainer level or have become a Master. Most of the time they are both, like in your case.”_

_“Master…” I whisper, not believing his ears. “I am not a…”_

_“It seems that you had not looked up your Trainer’s Page, yet.” He commented. “Why don’t you do that now?”_

_Slightly trembling, I took out my PokeNav Plus and entered my Trainer’s Page. There it was listed where I was born and live, my height, age, and my hair and eye color. Not sure why those were needed, as there was a picture of me. It is mentioned that I am sponsored and taught by Professor Oak. A list of all my pokemon and accomplishments. Not only my badge number, Conference Positions, and Gran Tournament wins (Orange Islands Challenge and Battle Frontier). There was also a list of all my accomplishments against poachers, helping out the Officers Jenny’s of many cities, helping out the different League’s against Team Rocket, Team Aqua, and Team Magma. All under Ranger’s Jobs. But none of that interested me, what truly caught my eye was at the beginning, where my titles were placed right under my name and age. There stood Ace Trainer and Terrain Master, soon to be followed by Ace Ranger once the paperwork is through._

_“Terrain Master?” I asked, dumbfounded._

_“That’s quite the achievement,” Champion Lance commented, completely oblivious of my short circuit. “Normally one becomes a Type Master or a Generalist Master, before achieving a Second Mastery- like Terrain Manipulation. But you have quite a knack and imagination for it. Even turning Legendaries attacks to your use and turning them into a new field for your advantage. Even if you are not yet a Generalist Master, you sure as Arceus is a Terrain Master after all your achievements. Not even I have such a keen manipulation of the field, I do prefer to overpower my opponents” I heard him talk but my mind kept on repeating Master, Master, Master."_

_“Ash, you do know that you already are a Master level, right?” Scott cut in. “I do like that fire in you, wanting to wing a Conference to prove something to yourself, every one of us has it. But you also need to take pride and recognize your achievements. Your Pikachu can turn any battlefield into his advantage, being water, rock, and even air. He can fight in the air, using his opponent’s attacks as a propulsor, as if he was a Flying Type. Heck since your fight against Brock you showed signs of a proficient field manipulator. Your Birds can fight on the ground, the way only Flying Masters can achieve.”_

_“I… I know that, but it has always been my pokemon the one that wins the battles for us.” I said, still far away in thought._

_I always wanted to be a Master and I am finally one!_

_“That is a noble way to see things,” Head Ranger Charles spoke, taking pity on me. “Maybe you are right when it comes to Type Mastery or Generalist Mastery, but they are **your** ideas that made it possible to take advantage of the battlefield and other attacks, turning it into **your** battlefield. Take pride in that.”_

_“I do…” I sighed. “It’s simply too much in so little time, it feels so surreal,” I admitted, taking comfort in Pikachu’s nuzzles._

_“I understand. I am sorry for having to make it worse,” he replied, putting another box on the table. “Whenever a Ranger is promoted to Ace Ranger you receive a reward.”_

_I looked at Head Ranger Charles with a betrayed expression and rapidly turned to Scott, who simply smiled and placed another box on the table. I moaned, hiding my face on Pikachu's fur._

_“Jajaja, we all agreed on the same gift. Believing you need them and are responsible enough to wield them. Especially, since the chances of you going against Team Galactic is not questionable.” He joked, but you could easily tell he was seriously under his teasing exterior._

_“What are they?” I asked, kind of scared by the answer- they were too serious to be handing me an Evolution Stone or a pokemon._

_“I believe Professor Oak taught you about Mega Evolution.” Champion Lance commented, opening the box to show me to Mega Stones. “These are a Charizardite X and an Altarianite.”_

_“Why am I not surprised?” It left my lips before I could stop them, luckily, he was not offended, if anything he was amused._

_“Can you fault me? I **am** a Dragon Master.” He replied, between laughter. _

_“This is a Pidgeotite,” Head Ranger Charles said, opening his box._

_“I got you a Heracronite. Professor Oak got you a Key Stone as a gift,” Scott added._

_“By the way, be careful with the Mega Stones I gave you. Mega-Altaria becomes a Dragon/Fairy Type and Mega-Charizard X becomes a Fire/Dragon-Type.” Warned me, Champion Lance._

_“A Dragon-Type can become a Fairy Type?” I asked stunned. “Isn’t that like a Fire Type being an Ice Type too?”_

_“That’s a Galarian Pokemon,” Scott commented, I shook my head not wanting to confuse myself anymore._

I looked down on my wrist, still stunned by the beautiful Key Stone on the Mega Bracelet. On the other hand, Charizard, Pidgeot, Altaria, and Heracross loved being able to evolve even further. They took Mega Evolution as a Goldeen to the water, that did make me very happy. Showing that the bond with my pokemon is strong. Even with Altaria, who I had only had for three months. When Charizard found out about his species having another Mega Stone to evolve into a Mega-Charizard Y, he could not stop pestering me about it.

Talking about my pokemon I am so happy that with my Ace status I was allowed to bring up to 12 pokemon with me. I decided to keep 6 of my old pokemon with me and the rest for any new family members I end up catching. I might only have Pikachu and Jolteon out, but I also have Aipom, Vibrava, Honedge, and Froakie with me.

This was a new start, a new me. But, of course, things could not change too much. As always, when I am in a new region, I caught the Regional Bird, a handsome Starly. But things cannot stay quiet and peaceful for too long for me. On my way to Professor Rowan’s Lab, I had to hear a girl’s scream, being who I am I ran towards the sound.

I’ll help the girl and then deal with whoever is following me later.


	7. I Dawn's P.O.V

_This is not how my first day as a trainer was supposed to go!_ I screamed in my head, as I hugged Piplup close and looked fearfully at the Ariados cluster. _I was supposed to get my first pokemon today and become the best coordinator… not die before I even began my journey!_

Just as I began to lose hope and accept my end.

“Pikachu, Thunder!” A male voice rang through the clearing, and as in the art of magic, a thunder fell from the sky fainting every single Ariados.

I looked at the scene before me with stupefaction, not believing my eyes. One move did that?! A _Pikachu_ at that! But I could not be bothered to care about it too much, Piplup and I were safe.

“Ah,” a shuddered breath left my lips and I tightened my hold on Piplup. “We are fine, we are safe,” I mumbled against his fur.

“Piplup,” he replied, hugging me back.

“Miss, are you ok?” I looked up to find an older boy, looking down on me with a concerned but friendly expression.

He was quite handsome. Shot straight black hair, with hazel eyes that almost turn red under the light. Not too tall but not short either. With a friendly expression that spoke of a charismatic charm that makes you want to get close to him immediately. He wore a casual black t-shirt with an open short-sleeved black and red shirt, a red and white hat, red sneakers, and black jeans. He was quite fit, in the lean swimmer way, with legs to die for! The way those jeans clung to his legs… it was clear he trained himself.

I almost got lost in his beauty, only snapping out of it when I noticed the gun on his belt, right beside his Poke Balls. I almost returned to hyperventilate when he spoke up again.

“Relax! There are no bullets!” He assured me. “It fires miniature electroshock weapons to temporarily paralyze criminals.”

“Cri-criminals? You work for the police?” I asked, more relaxed now, but still confused.

“Something like that…” He chuckled. “Let me help you up,” he offered me his hand.

I blushed at the gentleman-like gesture. I thankfully accepted the hand and stood up with his help.

“Thank you for helping me.” I finally thanked him. “I’m Dawn Berlitz, from Twinleaf Town, and this is Piplup.”

“Piplup!” My new friend exclaimed proudly, puffing his chest once I put him back on the ground.

“Hi, nice to meet you. These are Pikachu and Jolteon,” he pointed to the electric pokemon on his shoulder and his side, who greeted us back cheerfully. “I’m Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, Kanto, at your service!” I could only look at him in shock. I was saved by an Ace Trainer, a Ranger at that! How lucky am I? “Can you tell me what happened here?” He asked, taking out his PokeNav Plus ready to take notes. It’s then that I realized that he was asking me as a Ranger and I quickly tried to give him an answer. “So, that’s what happened.” He sighed. “Honestly, Professor Rowan was extremely irresponsible.”

“But I was the one who offered to help him out!” I protested, getting upset that I had gotten Professor Rowan in trouble with the Rangers.

“I know, Professor Rowan takes his responsibilities seriously and this was only a lapse of judgment on his part.” He replied, smiling at me warmly, making me feel better. “But the fact remains that you are a civilian, even if you were a trainer these kind of jobs are for Rangers for a reason.” He pointed out at the Ariados still laying on the ground. “You were very lucky I was passing by,” he told me, gently abut firm, making me flinch. “He must have not known about the Ariados cluster, otherwise he wouldn’t have sent someone without a pokemon. Especially, someone who isn’t even registered as a trainer yet. I’ll still have to talk with him, just to make sure it doesn’t happen again. I’ll escort you back, but first, we’ll have to wait for other Rangers to come so they can deal with the Ariados. We can’t have such a violent cluster forming near the Professor’s Lab. Not when a lot of trainers, new and experience, take this path to get their pokemon or inscribe in Sinnoh’s Pokemon League.”

“Can’t you do that yourself?” I asked, calmer now that he chastised me. “You are an Ace Ranger.”

“I am, but I am also a Kanto Native who had only just arrived in Sinnoh this morning.” He replied, chuckling. “Even if I am a Ranger, I cannot exercise the job and rights of a Ranger in Sinnoh without the necessary paperwork being done. That’s why I was heading towards Professor Rowan’s Lab. Until then, I’ll have to delegate the job to others. Politics…” He sighed, sending me an amused smile.

I chuckled, but then squealed when Jolteon sent a Shock Wave towards the cluster. I didn’t even notice that they were waking up! But Ash’s pokemon did and dealt with them swiftly, Jolteon didn’t even look the Ariados’ way!

Soon, a couple of Rangers appeared. Both of them looking at Ash as if he was some sort of legendary hero, saluting with the utmost respect. Then again, he _is_ an Ace Ranger, so maybe he is some kind of hero or legend among the Rangers. Ash saluted back and nodded at the Rangers with respect, he then proceeded to explain the situation to them. I cringed when the newcomer’s expression turned dark.

“You’re going the Professor’s way,” the female Ranger stated more than asked, but Ash still nodded his head. “Good, then we’ll leave that to you. We’ll deal with the Ariados.”

“Not as if there’s much to do.” The male one laughed cheerfully, he reminded me of a little kid who had gotten to meet their personal hero… maybe he did. “When I heard from my commander officer that you were coming to Sinnoh I was over the moon! Now with you by our side, we can finally deal with…”

“Josh, that’s enough,” the female Ranger barked.

“But Sarah!” Josh whined.

“Josh!” She looked pointedly at him, before turning her eyes towards me. “There’s a civilian around us.”

I wanted to protest; I was ten already! Starting my journey! They didn’t have to hide things from me to protect me. But then I recalled Ash’s sarcastic comment: “Politics…”

Ash winked at me, to reassure me, before turning towards the Rangers: “Thank you for the aid. If there’s nothing more we can help you with, I need to escort this lady back to Professor Rowan’s Lab.”

“Of course,” Sarah said, straightening her back. “Thank you for your service, Ace Ranger Ash.”

“No need to mention it,” he chuckled. “Just doing my job.”

“By the way,” Josh began, getting closer with a serious expression before whispering something in Ash’s ear.

I could only hear Ash’s whispered reply: “Don’t worry, I noticed.” His goofy and carefree expression was replaced by a serious one, that sent shivers down my spine. “I’ll deal with it later.”

“Good!” He cheerfully replied, going back to Sarah’s side. “Then that’s all! It’s been an honor to meet you, Ace Ranger Ash.”

“The honor’s been mine.” He replied smile back on his face. “We’ll be taking our leave.”

I could only stand back as the conversation carried on, asking myself: _What in Arceus's name have I gotten myself involved in?_

Just as Ash turned towards me, asking if I was ready to leave, did I remember a very crucial detail?

“Oh no!” I moaned, sadly. “The Ariados destroyed my bike!”


	8. I Paul's P.O.V

At first, all I thought was: _This guy is a joke._

Walking carefree through the forest, with a goofy smile, not even having the control to put his pokemon in his Poke Balls and even talking and joking with them as if they… friends. Catching a Starly without even fighting it or looking up the moves it knows.

_This guy is a fool._

But then I noticed his gun. My hand went instinctively to Torterra’s Poke Ball. It was then that I realized that the guy wasn’t as carefree as he seems at first sight. His pokemon were constantly looking out for trouble, it didn’t matter that their eyes never left the route or their trainer, they were using their noses and ears to search for any enemy close by.

 _Smart_. I thought, grudgingly. _There are many techniques and pokemon that can fool the eye._

Not to mention he had a gun on himself… and the way he walked. This guy is trained, he could defend himself without the need of his pokemon. Must be a police officer or Ranger. There is no way he would be showing off his gun if he wasn’t allowed to carry one.

Who would have thought today was going to be my lucky day. Here I thought I would only meet with newbie trainers, but here I find not only a veteran but a and officer of the law at that. He must have been in difficult situations against powerful pokemon or fought poachers. Oh, the possibilities. My blood only kept on bumping with the certainty of a good fight.

As I was about to make my presence known, I noticed his Jolteon turn its head back. For a second I thought that there was danger coming from behind me when I realized that it was looking at me. It then chuckled and turn its back to me, totally dismissing me.

Oh, how I hated that creature at that moment. It didn’t even tell its master that someone was following him! As… as if I was not considered important or powerful enough to worry its trainer. How dare it!

Just as I was about to send out Torterra and show it not to mess up with me. A girl’s scream rang out throughout the forest. I’ve never seen someone take action so fast in my life. The guy sprang into action, with both pokemon swiftly following him.

 _A Ranger or Police Officer for sure._ I thought, as I rapidly followed him.

“Pikachu Thunder!” He ordered, and almost blinded me with the show of lights his mouse did.

What greeted me once I finally reached the clearing was a sight to behold. A whole cluster of Ariados fainted because of a single Thunder attack from a Pikachu. He truly will be a worthy opponent. I smirked, impatient to finally face him and prove who is better. The conversation that followed bored me.

 _Can’t he stop wasting time?!_ I thought glaring.

Just as I was getting impatient, I found out an interesting fact, the guy is an Ace Trainer. One from Kanto, no wonder he did not deal with the Ariados yet. He legally can’t. I scoffed at the foolish girl. How can she start her journey without even knowing that?

 _Foolish_.

It doesn’t matter. I’ll get going and wait for them at the Professor’s Lab. In the meanwhile, what pokemon should I use against him? Torterra is a given, so is Nidoking. I’ll use Weavile and Ninjsak too. Looking at both Pikachu and Jolteon he seems to favor speed, let’s see if he can match my pokemon. I’ll also use Elekid and Chimchar, I need to measure if they advanced or not. Chimchar especially, having another regional starter was tempting but my gamble with that monkey isn’t paying off, no matter what I do.

“Paul, what a surprise.” Professor Rowan exclaimed when he noticed me enter the Lab. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for Ace Ranger Ash to get here,” I replied, secretly enjoying his stunned expression.

“How did you know he was coming?” He asked me seriously, all shock tossed aside. “You shouldn’t even know he was coming to Sinnoh.”

“I saw him saving a girl from a cluster of Ariados,” I replied. “I’m just waiting for them to get here so I can have my fight.”

“A cluster of Ariados?!” He exclaimed. “Oh, my Arceus! I shouldn’t have sent Dawn out there on her own.”

“Yeah, I’ll use the Video Phone.” I didn’t even pay him any more attention. “Can you send me Nidoking, Weavile, and Ninjsak?”

“Hi, little brother,” Reggie chuckled. “Nidoking, Weavile, and Ninjsak? Who are you facing?”

“Ash Ketchum,” I replied, nonchalantly. Knowing that if I mention he is an Ace Ranger, my brother would go into another one of his lesson rantings.

“Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum? As in the only one who has defeated the Battle Frontier and has helped different Leagues to defeat various criminal organizations, like the Rockets, Aquas, and Magmas?” My brother asked, slowly. “That Ash Ketchum?”

That Ranger is the Battle Frontier Champion? When my own brother had failed?! He has not only faced strong pokemon and poachers as I had envisioned but criminal organizations too?!

“That one.” Surprise, surprise, the one who answered wasn’t me but the guy we were talking about. I turn around to face Ash Ketchum, behind him were the foolish girl and Professor, and all I could ask is: _When did they get here?_ “May I know why you know that much? The Battle Frontier is on my Trainer’s Page, as are my titles. But my Ranger’s files should have not been made public for my family’s protection.”

“I might be a breeder nowadays, but I used to be an Ace Trainer myself. One that worked side by side with Sinnoh’s Pokemon League when I wasn’t traveling.” My brother answered, pride warmed my heart. His usual carefree expression replaced by one of seriousness, this was the pride and joy of our family- the Ace Trainer Reggie Shinji. “I still get Trainers Profiles of interesting or/and important trainers that might be coming or are in Sinnoh. Sometimes to give them my opinion or…”

“To keep out an eye on them,” Ketchum finished for Reggie. “What am I wrong?” Now it was Ketchum’s carefree expression the one that vanished, being replaced by an amused smirk. But for some reason, I could only think that he was dangerous. My brother himself steeled as if prepared for a fight. But then, as fast as it came it was gone, and the carefree happy trainer was back. “Relax! I am just kidding! I am an Ace Ranger myself; I know the drill. Or did you not think I would be told about the famous Reggie Shinji or the mysterious Tobias?”

“Tobias… that guy just doesn’t sit well with me,” Reggie murmured.

“Me neither. One who hides so much about themselves… they can’t be hiding anything good.” Ketchum replied, with my brother nodding his head. As if the tension from before was only a dream. “Hey, this might be personal so you don’t have to answer but I am sure Brandon would like to know your answer.”

I glared at the Ranger; how dare he mention that man?! The man who ended my brother’s Training Career! The only comfort I have is knowing that he was finally defeated and dethroned.

“What is it?” Reggie finally asked.

“Are you happy?” The questions took everyone by surprise. “He was worried when you suddenly dropped out as a trainer and decided to become a breeder. He might not mention it much, but I know he kind of blames himself.”

“You kept in contact with the Frontier Brains after winning the challenge?” My brother asked suspiciously.

“Goodness, you are truly as smart as they mentioned!” Ketchum laughed.

“And you have a heart as big as they mentioned,” Reggie replied with a smile. “Then, am I right?”

“Not exactly, it’s still up in the air,” Ketchum answered.

“Can you just answer?” I growled, fed up with their secret conversation.

Ketchum turned his gaze towards me and raised an eyebrow, before facing my brother again: “He has quite the temper, doesn’t he?”

“If only you knew,” Reggie replied, shaking his head amusedly. “I am. Happy I mean. I might have been a great trainer, but Brandon was right, I only took that path because it was what was expected of me at the time. I did not have the necessary drive, to keep on growing. I was just drifting through my journey and winning medals. Brandon was a wake-up call; he was my first real loss… and you know? I didn’t really care. Now that I had found what I truly wanted to do in my life, I am happy.”

“Lucky,” Ketchum grumbled.

I looked at him closely. Was he going to be another good trainer that turns his back to battling? He’s so similar to Reggie that it makes my blood bump up with excitement at the idea of fighting him seriously, because my brother never does, and he’ll make as a replacement. But does he want to abandon battling like a pussy… like my brother?

“Second-guessing your career path?” Reggie asked, with sympathy. “Though I did not see it coming if I am being honest. I’ve seen your videos; you look so alive and happy when you are battling.”

“I am… it’s just what do I really want to become? Do I want to keep winning medals and championships all my life? Do I want to become a Gym Leader? Do I want to become an Elite Four or Champion? Do I want to have my own Precinct?” Ketchum ranted, before sighing. “Sorry, I am ranting to a stranger about my life. It’s just that I finally reached my dream of becoming a Master and that left me both happy but…”

“Disconnect,” Reggie finished for him.

“Yeah,” Ketchum nodded.

_Wait! He is a Master?! An Electric Master? Generalist?_

“Why don’t you think about your next step, first.” Reggie offered. “You’re still young and do have a job you enjoy to fall back into, one that gives you more liberty and leeway. For now, just think of finishing the Sinnoh League and maybe getting your Generalist Mastery first.”

“You know what, I’ll do just that.” Ketchum sighed, smiling at my brother before turning to me. “You did want a fight, right?” He asked me. I simply nodded my head, still a bit uncomfortable at how easily my brother and he bonded. “Six-on-six?”

“Of course,” I scoffed.

He simply raised another eyebrow at me, making me seethe. Why was treating me like a little kid?! He can’t be that much older than me!

“Fine, finish getting all your pokemon. Professor do you have somewhere we can have our fight?” Ketchum asked.

“Yes, behind the Lab I have a small training ground.” Professor Rowan answered. “I will referee the match.”

“Thank you,” Ketchum told him before they all left through the backdoor.

Before they left, I’ve noticed that the foolish girl had chosen Piplup as her starter.

“Paul,” Reggie called me out, I returned my attention to the Video Phone and was surprised to meet my brother’s stern gaze. “He is not someone to mess around with,” he warned me. “He is not a normal Ace Ranger and facing criminal organizations is not what makes him special. He is the kind of ally the Leagues call out for whenever they need to get involved in Legendary situations.” Now my brother had my complete attention. Legendaries?! “He could have already won the Silver Conference and Ever Grande Conference if he had wanted. The Rumor Mill has it that he doesn’t care much about it and uses the conferences as his training ground to give more training to his last year's caught pokemon. Even then, he ends up at the Top 8 with them.”

“With pokemon, he caught in the last year against veteran trainers?” I asked him, not believing what he was telling me. No one is that good, he couldn’t have made them that strong in only a year.

“Some are not even completely evolved,” he continued. I could only gape at him in disbelief. “Now you see who you are facing? I shouldn’t even be telling you this, but I know you, and I don’t want you to make him your enemy… that’s one of the worst things you can do. Also, he is more than just power and strength. He is creative and mad, which makes him so dangerous and the perfect secrete ace the Indigo League has against Legendaries, foes you can never overpower, no matter how much you train.” He sighed, putting three Poke Balls on the transferring system. “You want to fight him, do it. After the fight, I might even send you his uncensored Trainer’s Page if you want. You’ll learn a lot from that fight. But do not insult his pokemon, he is very protective of them and will mark you as an undesirable trainer if you do.”

“Ok,” I answered, still processing everything that I’ve heard in the last ten minutes.

“One last thing, you’ll need much more than power and type advantage to defeat him.” My brother advised me, but I did not pay him any attention. Against someone like him I needed type advantage and any advantages I could get my hands on. “Ah,” he sighed. “Just… be careful.”

I simply nodded my head and left for the Lab’s training ground. Ketchum was already at one side, with the Professor at the center to referee and the foolish girl and lad assistants by the wall to observe. I took my place at the other end and immediately released Elekid.

“How long have you had him?” Ketchum immediately asked, giving my electric type and assessing look.

“Four months,” I answered curtly.

Ketchum nodded, before looking down at his Jolteon and saying: “Then I’ll choose you, Princess. I’ve had her for around two months now. She is my youngest and last member to join the family.” Reggie was not kidding; the guy is a total fool when it comes to his pokemon.

I wanted to scoff, but my brother’s warning kept me in check. Let’s see how long that pampered princess can keep up with my Elekid. She might be fully evolved but Elekid is from a superior species.

“This will be a six-on-six single pokemon fight, substitution is allowed. Am I understood?” The Professor announced. “Then, let the battle begin!”

“Elekid Thunder!” I ordered, trying to overpower him from the beginning. However, Ketchum only smiled and said nothing as my attack hit his pokemon. “What?!” When the smoke from the attack disappeared, it showed a perfectly fine Jolteon. _Did he use Protect?_ “It doesn’t matter,” I muttered, before sending my next attack. “Agility chained with Brick Break!”

Elekid moved the fastest I’ve ever seen it move. But it was no issue for Jolteon to follow, intercepting the Brick Break with Iron Tail and hitting Elekid with a Shadow Ball point-blank. Then using Agility chained with a second Iron Tail to the head. The strength behind the attack sent Elekid crashing against the tree behind me and I knew he was out of commission before Professor Rowan had to announce it.

I glared at the Jolteon, carelessly grooming herself in the middle of the battlefield. It defeated my pokemon with a jokingly ease and doesn’t even have a single scratch on its body. All without a single command from its trainer! Has he truly had it for only two months?! I turned around and returned Elekid, while at the same time releasing Chimchar. Let’s hope the useless monkey does a better job.

What’s worse I had to keep my comments to myself, or my brother would have my head. I care nothing about people not liking me or painting me as their enemy, but Reggie is already getting enough bad rep because of me. This was not only me getting repercussions, but my brother ending up at odds with an Ace Trainer from another region. The last thing I need is to have him getting into international trouble because of me.

“Rapid Ember!” I commanded, having it throw various embers towards Jolteon who gracefully evaded each one. Not that I cared, that was just a distraction. “Now! Dig!”

That got a reaction from Ketchum, he looked almost pleased by me using tactics. Why do I even care about that?! But he still said nothing, and Jolteon stayed still where it was. Suddenly its ears and tail perked, and it jumped high above the sky, with Chimchar closely following it after breaking the ground beneath it.

“Use Flame Wheel!” I ordered, this time it won’t be able to use Iron Tail to block my attack.

“Spin and use Swift,” Ketchum finally spoke, and Chimchar found itself trapped in a vortex of stars. He burned most of them, but his fire ended before he finished them all, and received attacks from all sides. “Finished it with Shadow Ball,” he sent his next order, and I knew Chimchar was done for.

It landed ungracefully on the ground, leaving a crater where the hole of its Dig had been. I glared at the useless monkey and returned it. Another battle did without me being able to lay a hit. Already done with this, I rapidly released Weavile.

“Ice Beam on the floor!” I barked. “Follow it with Icicle Spear!”

 _Now it won’t be able to evade it!_ I thought, pleased.

But all Ketchum said was: “You know what to do Princess.”

With that said, Jolteon jumped in the air, landing with an icicle right under its feet, which is then used to surf on the frozen ground. It was as fast and graceful as if it was running on normal ground. How does it do that?

“Metal Claw!” I commanded as Jolteon rapidly reached Weavile, who rapidly countered with Iron Tail, just like I expected. “Icy Wind!” With a point-blank attack like that, that Jolteon was over!

However, Ketchum simply commanded: “Attract!” Making Weavile fell under its spell. “Now, Double Kick! Send him up into the air and finish it!”

Just like that my third pokemon was done for. Jolteon sent Weavile flying, only to follow it and hit him over and over again with Double Kick, before sending him to the ground fainted.

“Weavile is unable to fight, please send your next pokemon.” I heard the Professor say.

I swiftly returned Weavile and sent out Ninjsak. But before I could give out one command, Ketchum spoke. For a second I believed he was finally going to attack first. But he did the last thing I expected him to do.

“Princess, return. Good fight.” He smiled at his Jolteon, who trotted back to his side. Ketchum kneeled and patted the head of his pokemon, before standing back up and sending out his next pokemon. “Vibrava, your next!”

 _So, he was finally getting serious?_ I wondered.

“Heat Wave max power!” Ketchum took me by surprise and attacked first. The dragon-type sent out a powerful Heat Wave that melted all the ice Weavile had left behind and hit Ninjsak in one try. As Ninjsak fell from the sky I knew it still had a fight left on it, unfortunately so did Ketchum's. “Agility and Steel Wing!” Just like my fourth pokemon was out.

 _At least, now I was getting serious too._ I thought, sending out Nidoking.

“Nidoking Sludge Bomb!” I commanded, but Vibrava easily evaded that attack. Coming straight to attack Nidoking. “Brick Break!” That was close! Vibrava only dodged at the last moment. “Rock Slide! Follow it with Rock Tomb!”

I almost had it! Vibrava was only barely capable of escaping the Rock Tomb, too busy dodging the Rock Slide. I’ll do that. Let’s overpower this dragon and throw everything we’ve got at it. Move after move, Vibrava kept dodging, but I knew we were getting closer.

“Ah,” Ketchum sighed. “Here I thought you would come out with something interesting like with Chimchar. But it seems that they are the only ones with flexibility.” His comment rubbed me off the wrong way. He was only impressed by that useless monkey?! “Vibrava Mud-Slap! Cover their skin and then Supersonic!” Suddenly Nidoking’s venomous pores were covered by mud and he was rendered confused. “Now Dragon Breath powered up by Dragon Rush!” They blasted Nidoking away, but Nidoking managed to up… only to be overcome by the dragon’s next move: “Outrage!”

I didn’t even wait for the Professor to call it, I returned Nidoking and released Torterra- wondering why he was only impressed by Chimchar. That monkey is weak and had no redeeming quality, only dirty tricks to _try_ and get the upper hand.

“Torterra Energy Ball!” I ordered.

However, it was rapidly neutralized by Vibrava’s Sandstorm, which wrapped the whole training ground into sand. I could not see anything! Just as I was about to order Torterra to counter it, Vibrava moved in a supersonic speed and delivered a chain attack of Steel Wing-Bug Buzz-Heat Wave. Then finished it off once more with an Outrage.

Just like that, I lost. Having only fought two pokemon and not defeating or landing a single hit.

“Do you realize your mistake in this fight?” He asked me, once I’ve returned Torterra.

“I need to train harder and get stronger,” I gritted through my teeth.

 _What was he trying to do? Gloat?!_ I growled in my head, ashamed and angry at my total loss.

“Ah,” he sighed; he has been sighing a lot during our fight. He only stopped sighing when I used Chimchar. “How long have you had Nidoking? I believe a long time; he was on another level compared to the rest of your pokemon. So, was Weavile. I also believe Torterra is your starter,” he said, I just nodded my head. “I defeated Weavile with Jolteon, who, while she did receive training before coming to my team, I had only had for two months. Does that mean that she is stronger? No, she is not. But we have many tactics and know-how to turn the opponents' moves against them. Or to outsmart them.” I thought of how it turned my ice field into its own playground and growled. “Vibrava... he might be a dragon which means he has more raw power, but that doesn’t mean he will always win. He needs to have tactics of his own to showcase his strength and protect his weaknesses. How long do you think I’ve had him?”

“Two years?” I asked, dreading where this was going. “A year maybe.”

“Three months,” I stood frozen at his answer.

“Did it belong to another trainer before?” I asked, trying to hide my trembling. Because there is no way my prizefighter and starter lost to a three months catch.

“I did trade him, but he was a recent catch even then.” His answer, made my blood run cold. “Do you know why he won against experienced fighters? I controlled the whole situation, turned the field into my own playground, molded the terrain to his advantage. Didn’t let you or your pokemon breathe. Is he stronger than your Nidoking or Torterra? No way,” he laughed. “At least not yet.”

“Then, what did I do wrong?” Before I even knew, the question had left my mouth.

“Paul, I can easily see that your train your pokemon to be focused on strength. This is not bad perse, as you’ve noticed I am more focused on speed myself. But the problem is when it becomes more of an anchor than your fighting style. Your pokemon do not have versatility at all. What will you do when you face an opponent that can’t be overpowered? You pokemon that have speed, but only because they are genetically rapid.” He started explaining, still not seeing what I did wrong. “However, you won’t always have the right pokemon to face your opponent’s choices. Not to mention that from what I’ve seen, you are quite inflexible. You made your choices of pokemon with type and ability advantage, after seeing only two of my pokemon. Type advantage is not everything, if anything most of the time I don’t even have it in consideration. In the beginning, it does help to have the type advantage, but what will you do when the opponent knows how to go around that. Like I did during our match, or what most gym leaders will do.”

Was this what my brother meant? _“One last thing, you’ll need much more than power and type advantage to defeat him”_

“If my Jolteon, who I had only had for two months, was able to outmaneuver you, gym leaders that are trained and most prepared to face type advantages will defeat you.” Ketchum continued. “You want to have them lower their guards and take the other by surprise, be creative! Use a pokemon they’ll never see coming against them or use their moves against them and turn the terrain into your playground.”

How I am supposed to do that? That will only show I am weak and need tactics to get the upper hand! Like that useless monkey! Then again… I lost to those technics…

“How do you train your pokemon? Do they all go through the same exercises?” I absentmindedly nodded my head at the question. “I thought so... while endurance exercises are similar for most pokemon and are an excellent bonding experience, the rest won’t work. You can train two or more pokemon together, but not the same way. Each pokemon not only has a type difference but they are different in their own right. You need to be more flexible and mold your training to suit them. Otherwise, you’ll fail as a trainer. The trainer’s job is to be able to showcase and bring out the best of your pokemon. If you can’t do that, then that’s on _you_. If you are a good trainer, any pokemon can be the best.”

Mold myself for them? They are the ones that need to show me they are worth my time? Not the other way around! If they can’t keep up it only shows, that they are not good fighters and a waste of space… does that mean I am a bad trainer? No! But then again, he has been able to bring out the best of his pokemon even in disadvantageous situations. Was he right?

“Like my Pidgeot and Swellow, my Pidgeot is all about speed and grace, power. Swellow also favors speed, but unlike Pidgeot who prefers the sky, Swellow can enter a brawl against you on the ground level. My Croconaw is a dancer, would you ever think of using that to your advantage? Or would think of it as useless and as Croconaw being incapable of fighting?” _A dancing Croconaw? What was that foolishness?!_ I thought. “He might not be the fastest, but did you know that Earthquake no longer has any effect on him? He dances it away!” _That’s stupid… yet brilliant at the same time…_ I mussed to myself. “It’s almost impossible to hit him when he dances away from every attack. Not to mention, very hard to prepare for an attack when your opponent is always dancing, and you don’t know when his dancing means he is preparing to strike. If you can’t mold yourself or your training for the pokemon that doesn’t suit your preference, then you might as well release them or give them to another trainer whose style might suit them. Molding the pokemon never ends right... think away around it or...”

I realized then what he meant: “Release Chimchar,” I finished for him.

“Yes. Or release Chimchar,” he agreed. “Compared to the other pokemon it's clear, he is not fitting in your training and his fighting style is distinctive from the rest of your pokemon. Which would be great… if you were a flexible trainer. But you are not, and you will only end up breaking him,” he threw at me. “I know it might be hard but sometimes it’s better than having them suffer.” I scoffed at that. Hard? I’ll be glad to get rid of that monkey. “My Aipom is a diva, she wants to be a coordinator’s pokemon and do shows rather than fight. So here I am looking for the right trainer to trade her with, so she can be happy and reach her true potential. Think about it.” 

With that said he nodded at me and returned inside, with his Pikachu on his shoulder and followed by his Jolteon, the lab assistants, and that foolish girl.

“Paul… think about Ace Ranger Ketchum’s words,” Professor Rowan finally spoke. “I believe you won’t only grow as a trainer but as a person if you truly understand them.”

I stayed there for a while, mulling over his words, only getting inside once he and that foolish girl had finally left. I will never understand, why an Ace Ranger would travel with a newbie coordinator? He is a strange person; he acts like a fool and idiot, but he is strong. Does that mean he is right, and I am wrong?

“It looks like you’ve lost pretty bad, eh,” Reggie commented, as he appeared on the screen.

“Can you send me his uncensored Trainer’s Page?” I asked him.

“I will share my screen with you, but I won’t send you a copy or access. We can’t have it spreading around or falling in the wrong hands. Also, keep the news that he is here to yourself for a while. He came with a special mission and we can’t have his objective getting suspicious,” he told me, I only nodded.

Reading his Trainer's Page I could not believe my eyes.

Not only did it cite all of his achievements, both as a trainer and ranger, but also his titles. Terrain Master, no wonder my ice field was a game for him. There were clips too. Reggie only showed me his official Battle Frontier matches, the ones including his work as a ranger were confidential and he was already breaking enough rules showing me all of this. It showed how his Charizard, Sceptile, and _Pikachu_ had defeated a Legendary each. It was then that I made my decision.

"Reggie, can you make me a favor?" I asked.

"Of course, little bro," he replied, with a warm encouraging smile.

Maybe things will get better... who knows?


	9. Trainer's Page: Ash Ketchum.

**Name** : Ash Ketchum

 **Age** : 14

 **Gender** : Male

 **Eye Color** : Hazel

 **Hair Color** : Black

 **Birthday** : May 22nd

 **Hometown** : Pallet Town

 **Region** : Kanto

 **Trainer Class** : Ace Trainer

 **Ranger Class** : Ace Ranger

 **Title** : Terrain Master

**Pokemon Count** : 52

  * Pikachu (Starter)
  * Pidgeot
  * Bulbasaur
  * Squirtle
  * Charizard
  * Kingler
  * Primeape
  * Muk
  * Tauros
  * Snorlax
  * Heracross
  * Noctowl
  * Meganium
  * Quilava
  * Croconaw
  * Donphan
  * Swellow
  * Sceptile
  * Crawdaunt
  * Torkoal
  * Glalie
  * Aipom
  * Skarmory
  * Mawile
  * Nidoking
  * Nidoqueen
  * Zangoose
  * Houndooom
  * Mightyena
  * Vibrava
  * Altaria
  * Hitmontop
  * Miltank
  * Espeon
  * Sylveon
  * Glaceon
  * Magcargo
  * Froslass
  * Plusle
  * Minun
  * Kicketune
  * Ninjask
  * Shedinja
  * Galarian Slowbro
  * Galarian Slowking
  * Polteageist
  * Honedge
  * Froakie
  * Granbull
  * Jolteon
  * Starly



**Badge Count** : 28

 **Pokemon League Ranking** :

  * Indigo Plateau Conference: Top 16
  * Orange League: Champion
  * Silver Conference: Top 8
  * Ever Grande Conference: Top 8



**Kanto Battle Frontier Symbols** : 8 (Winner)

**Notable Features** :

  * Professor Oak’s Student
  * Completed the Eight Gym Challenge in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn.
  * The youngest person to have completed the Kanto Eight Gym Challenge in over a decade.
  * Stopped the Shamouti Island Catastrophe.
  * The first trainer to have completed and won the Kanto Battle Frontier Challenge.
  * P1 Grand Prix- Winner
  * Big P Pokemon Race- Winner
  * Pokemon Swap Meet Tauros Battle Competition- Winner
  * Bug-Catching Contest- Winner
  * Grass Tournament- Runner Up
  * Sumo Conference- Winner
  * Pokemon Balloon Race- Winner with Cerulean Gym Leader Misty Waterflower and Pewter Ex-Gym Leader and Breeder Brock Harrison
  * Extreme Pokemon Race- Winner
  * Crossgate PokeRinger- Winner
  * Rota Tournament- Winner



**Ranger Accomplishments** :

  * Returned a stolen Larvitar Egg to Mt. Silver.
  * Stopped the plans of Team Rocket countless of times.
  * Discovered the identity of Team Rocket’s boss.
  * Stopped various poachers.
  * Stopped Iron-Masked Marauder.
  * Prevented Alto Mare from being flooded.
  * Helped stop Fake Groudon.
  * Helped stop Team Magma and Aqua.
  * Stopped Captain Phantom.




	10. III Ash's P.O.V

“Thank you, Ash.” Professor Rowan told me, as he re-entered the Lab. “Paul needed to hear that.”

“Don’t mention it,” I replied. “I know that there are different kinds of trainers out there and I’ve learned my lesson about getting involved. As long as there is no abuse I won’t try and… ‘fix’ the other’s training methods. As much as I hate people catching and releasing pokemon because they don’t fit their criteria… I am happy Paul did that.”

“Why?” Dawn asked me, shocked.

“It is not something I would ever do or something I would advise people to do.” I smiled at her. “But Paul’s methods are too much for any pokemon who doesn’t follow his ideology. If he had a pokemon who doesn’t fit his criteria and kept it training him as he trains the other… that would be borderline abuse.”

“Like with Chimchar,” Dawn commented.

“Yes, like with him.” I sighed. “I know for a fact that the only reason Paul kept him is that he is a Regional Pokemon. Otherwise, he would have released him a long time ago. Let’s just hope he listens to me.”

“Then, why don’t you take Chimchar from him?” Dawn asked me, confused. “Professor Rowan already inscribed you to the Sinnoh League and entered you to the Sinnoh Ranger database.”

“It’s because he is not a bad trainer… he is simply lost and inflexible. He is set in a way and nothing else is going to change that. At least not now. Also, he doesn’t abuse his pokemon. You’ve seen them, Dawn. Their fur or scales were shining, and they all look healthy, even Chimchar. The issue with Chimchar is that he is completely exhausted trying to keep up and not being able. If he keeps going like that he’ll break, even if he is not abused.” I explained to her, hating how my hands were tight in this situation. “Do you get it now?”

“I do,” Dawn pouted. “But I hate it.”

“Me too,” I replied, with a tired smile- kneeling to pat Jolteon when she tried to comfort me. “You were fantastic out there, Princess. Your first battle outside the family and you crushed it!”

“Teon!” Jolteon exclaimed happily, tail wagging.

“You’re going to Oreburgh City, right?” Professor Rowan asked. I nodded my head as I stood up. “Then why don’t you both travel together? Jubilife City is on the way and there’s a contest being held there soon.”

“Are you sure?” I asked them both. “I am an Ace Ranger and trouble follows me everywhere I go. It will be dangerous.”

“Being on my own will be dangerous.” Dawn cut me off. “I almost died today,” I noticed the Professor flinch. I felt slightly relieved, seeing that the Professor was really apologetic and won’t be making the same mistake again. “I have a lot to learn. I realized today that though my dream is to be a coordinator I need to become strong to defend myself and my pokemon.”

“Piplup!” I looked down at the water pokemon, who stood proudly next to his trainer nodding his head.

With such a bond from the get-go, how can I say no…

“Ah, ok. Let’s travel together.” I accepted, chuckling when Dawn exclaimed in celebration.

She’s quite the excited girl, reminding me a lot of myself during my first journey. Excited and confident, knowing I’ll win it all… how wrong I was. But at least, she seems much more down to earth and prepared than I was.

Saying our goodbyes to the Professor and his assistants we left for Jubilife City, getting to know each other better… and my fight.

“And that start vortex was so cool!” Dawn exclaimed excitedly, still going about my fight with Paul. “How did you get that idea?”

“Honestly it was an accident,” I answered her. “As I said my Aipom,” I nodded to the monkey, swinging from one branch to the other, “loves a contest and decided to play around during a mock battle and threw Swift after Swift until some kind of vortex was created. So, I asked her to do it again but this time bigger. It worked as a great defense and attack at the same time, not only does it cage the enemy but attacks them too. Now every pokemon I have that knows Swift uses it. Though there’s an issue for it.”

“Issue? I didn’t see any,” she asked me confused.

“In battle, there’s none… for a contest pokemon, however…” I said. “You see, what is the most important thing in a contest?” I asked her.

“To make your moves look good and pretty,” she answered immediately.

“No,” I quickly replied, surprised by her answer. I would think that a Top Coordinator’s daughter would know the answer by now. “It is to showcase the pokemon the best way possible. Not to make it look pretty, there are many pokemon who are not pretty in the normal sense but coordinators around the world showcase other abilities they possess. The coordinator’s most important job is to show off their pokemon the best way possible, be it by beauty, strength, grace, power, even by causing fear on the crowd.”

“Fear?!” Dawn asked me shocked.

“Of course, how else would a Ghost Type be shown off?” I replied with a question of my own. “Your style might be cute and pretty, but that doesn’t mean you’ll show off your pokemon in the same way. Like I told Paul, each pokemon is different and you need to adapt to them. You can’t make a ghost cute; you’ll need to make them ethereal in a phantom way. Each pokemon has its own nature, you need to show off that. But at the same time, each pokemon has its own behavior, nature, that has nothing to do with its type. You’ll need to find the perfect combination of both.”

“That’s hard,” Dawn commented, less excited than before.

“It is, but so is any kind of training,” I replied. “But, isn’t it awesome at the same time?”

“What?” She asked, confused.

“It just makes catching a new pokemon and training them much more exciting! It will never be the same! Even if you catch another one of the same species.” I explained with a beaming smile, enjoying how her excitement returned just a little bit. “Now, going back to the first question. If you use Swift after Swift without knowing how to control it and you end up with a block of stars that coverup your pokemon before bursting into pretty sparks. But in the end, your pokemon ends disappear and what is shown off is the move. A coordinator does not show off pokemon moves but the pokemon.”

“How do I do that? How do I show off a pokemon in another way than making pretty sparkles?” She asked me, looking down the floor.

I looked at her for a little while, she is surprisingly levelheaded for someone who just started her journey. Good, she’ll grow fast.

“Let me show you then,” I finally said and turned to Pikachu on my shoulder. “Help me out buddy?”

“Pika!” He nodded, happily.

“Good,” I turned to Dawn, finally stopping from walking. “Take out Piplup, you both need to see this.”

“Ok. Piplup, come out!” She kneeled before her starter and smiled. “Ash and Pikachu have something to show us. Pay attention.”

“Piplup!” He replied.

“Then, Pikachu uses Agility!” I commanded, and Pikachu obeyed. He jumped off my shoulder and started running in zigzag. “Now Discharge!”

“Wow! It looks as if thunder is moving on the ground!” Exclaimed Dawn. “It shows off his speed and electricity so perfectly, in such a simple way!”

“Bolt Tail!” I announced.

Pikachu jumped, the Discharge leftovers made a halo around Pikachu who was on the air, making him look cool and like the Electric Type he is. Then he suddenly moved down and hit the floor with his Iron Tail, making chunks of ground fly off to only be hit by Pikachu’s Thunderbolt. But his Thunderbolt did not come off his electrical pouches, but the electricity was directed to the ground by his Iron Tail. A tail that turned metallic yellow, with thunder like stripes coming up all around him- like an electric flower blooming.

“That… speed, type, power…” Dawn mumbled. “You showed off your pokemon’s type characteristic perfectly and the power that represents you both and your bond. But also, his speed was shown off at every turn without even the use of Agility, the speed that represents your Pikachu. It was all so simple yet brilliant… how do can you do that? How do you know when something is too much or too simple?”

“Practice,” I answered. “Experience helps a lot too. I’ve been traveling for four years, don’t expect to be on this level overnight.”

“Can you train me?” She asked me, excitedly.

“No,” I felt bad for deflating her mood so soon after she just recovered her excitement. “I am a trainer and I cannot teach a coordinator. You can be both, Wallace proves that. But that doesn’t mean _I_ can.” I explained. “I might be good at appeals, just because I know my pokemon too well and am totally mad. So, I have plenty of creativity. But battling wise, I get too excited and forget this was supposed to be a contest. I can give you some advice and my opinion of your appeals, but just that. You need to find your style yourself, without anyone tainting it.”

“Really?!” She asked, excitement coming back.

I smiled, relieved that she was happy again, and nodded my head. As I was about to go on, a brown small pokemon jumped out of the bushes and Dawn squealed in excitement.

“That’s a Buneary! I want them!” She exclaimed, taking out a Poke Ball to throw.

“Dawn,” I said, with an amused smile, grabbing her hand before she could throw the Poke Ball which she did not even expand.

“What?” She growled annoyed.

“You need to fight the pokemon before catching them or convince them to join you,” I told her. “Also, you didn’t even expand your Poke Ball.”

She blushed embarrassedly, before expanding the Poke Ball and calling out to Piplup: “Piplup use Bubble Beam!” Her starter followed the command, only to be blocked by an Ice Beam.

“Ice Beam? They might be quite strong to be able to learn such a move in the wild.” I commented, impressed. “Watch out! That’s a Dizzy Punch, if it touches Piplup he’ll be confused!”

“Piplup jump!” She rapidly reacted, her starter jumped in the air right above the Buneary. “Now Peck!” A point-blank attack. “Bubble Beam again!” It hit the Buneary, sending them against a tree.

“Now it’s your chance! Throw your Poke Ball!” I told her.

“Poke Ball go!” She threw it. It struggled a bit but in the end, she caught the Buneary. “We did it Piplup!” She exclaimed, picking up her starter and spinning him around. “I caught my first pokemon!”

“Well done Dawn!” I congratulated her. “Let’s go and find a place to set camp, it’s getting late. We also need to treat Buneary.”

“Ok!” She replied beaming with happiness, she picked up the Poke Ball and marched away.

I chuckled and thought: _She truly reminds me too much of myself._ _Let’s just hope she has a better first year than myself._


	11. II Dawn's P.O.V

We rapidly found a nice clearing and set camp. Ash took care of dinner, for both us and the pokemon, while I took care of Buneary’s injuries. Ash’s food was delicious! When he told me, it was his mom the one that taught him how to cook, it was not hard to believe that his mom has a restaurant. What did surprise me is the number of exotic pokemon he possessed. Not only did he have a dragon! But he also has a regional starter and a Ghost/Steel pokemon from Kalos. Not to mention that eeveelutions on their own are rare to find.

“Where’s Honedge?” I asked him confused as we ate, only now noticing he was missing.

“She is a ghost Dawn,” he told me, gently. I really liked how he was patient with me and never thought of my questions as stupid or irritating. “They feed off fear. So, she is going around looking for pokemon to prank. But don’t worry he knows the difference between a good-mannered prank and when she has crossed the line. Also, to never go for humans or pokemon that belong to other trainers.”

I nodded my head satisfied, before asking Ash the question which I’ve been waiting for the answer to: “So, what kind of advice can you give me?”

“Well, first of all, you’ll need to train your pokemon in both endurance and speed. I would say resistance also, but if you are hit, you’ll lose points. So, train them to be able to dodge. But don’t try to put any kind of fancy dodging technique during training. First, they’ll need to build a firm foundation from which you’ll build up your various coordinator moves and strategies.” He explained, calmly. I nodded my head, understanding. Though I was disappointed I heeded his advice and decided to control my excitement. “I know you might be excited.”

I looked at him surprised, why does he always know what I am thinking?

“I was just like you. Excited and ready to take the world… I am still like that!” He laughed, making me laugh too. His laugh is simply too contagious. I looked at his pokemon laughing, looking at Ash with such a tender and caring expression. They truly love and care about Ash, I hope one day my own pokemon and I will share such a tight bond. “But… I was not prepared at all,” his sudden energetic expression turned slightly gloomier. I did not like that and from the look of it neither his pokemon. “But I was lucky to find a good group of friends that helped me out. Things could have gone south many times and I could have screen… messed up my pokemon from training them the wrong way or being too excited.”

“Hurting them during training? You would never hurt your pokemon!” I exclaimed, enraged- his pokemon giving some exclamations of their own.

I might have not known Ash for long, but he has saved my life and been so patient and kind with me. He is like the ideal big brother, even with all the teasing I’ve endured since meeting him. And I’ve seen how close his pokemon and him are, how deep their bond is. They love him and he loves them.

“I didn't mean it like that!” He exclaimed back. “I would never hurt my pokemon! I would rather die!” Pikachu moaned at that and jumped on Ash’s lap, demanding pats. By now all of Ash’s pokemon have left their food to surrounding their trainer. Seeing that Piplup and Buneary sat next to me. “What I meant is that many times I tried to reach for the stars before my pokemon were ready because I was too excited. Think about it, Dawn. You are having a dodging exercise between Buneary and Piplup, Buneary uses Ice Beam and you ask Piplup to dodge, but doing it in a flashy way… I don’t know…”

“Spinning?” I offered.

“Good! You tell him to escape the attack by spinning, to make it look cool. But things go south because Piplup was not trained and it was too soon, he might not be good at dodging yet, and adding the spinning to that will leave him dizzy, he ends up hurt by the attack.” I knew it was all hypothetical but just the thought… I held both of my pokemon close to me. “That might not be such a dire situation, but it will come one day that you might try something too much for you or your pokemon to handle and most of the time it is the pokemon that pays for it. Do you understand?”

“I do,” I replied, seriously.

“Sorry for ruining the mood,” he apologized, his expression softening and his smile returning. “I don’t doubt how much you care about your pokemon and I know you will take good care of them. But I just want you to be careful when needed and be adventurous on everything else.”

“I get it,” I assured him. “Don’t worry.”

“Good! Then to my following advice!” He cheered, with his pokemon support. I chuckled at the comical scene they made. How can they be gloomy at one moment and excited on the other? “When it comes to pokemon moves I’ll advise you the same as with the endurance, speed, and dodging training. Build a firm foundation and little by little grow the power and control the pokemon possesses over the move. I know that coordinators are not all about power, but at the end of the day you’ll still battle on stage and that extra power might be what makes the difference.” He explained.

I mulled over his words and decided he was right. I’ll need to learn to control the moves and make them powerful before trying to make combinations that will surprise the judges

“Also, look up various types of specialist coordinators. When I say type specialist, I mean it, they are the ones that know their types the most and how to bring out their very best. I’ll recommend Wallace at once; he is a Water Type Master and will give you various ideas on how to make Piplup shine.” He continued.

“Pi-pi-up!” Piplup seems quite happy with this idea.

“I don’t know many other coordinators, so I won’t be able to help you out in finding someone to take inspiration for Buneary.” He apologized. “But I _do_ know Normal Types, they are all about the versatility. Teach her moves of various types, that will showcase how talented Normal Types can really be. You can also use your Pokedex to take notes about training plans and your pokemon developments. Also, to look out moves they can learn or how to teach them even.” 

“What about appeals?” I asked him.

“All I can tell you is that I know that coordinators love to be flashy but to never forget that the moves are used to showcase the _pokemon_ , not the other way around. So, don’t lose sight of who is supposed to be the star of the show.” He told me shortly, I was a bit disappointed by the short advice, but I also understood that Ash is a trainer, not a coordinator. However, after a small silence, he spoke again. “Also, try not to be very repetitive. I’ve noticed during Hoenn and Kanto that various newie coordinators tend to use the same moves just in a different order or with a new thing to spice it up, but in the end, it only feels repetitive and boring to watch the same thing over and over again. As two judges will be in every contest you participate in, I’ll recommend you try new things, new combos, teach new moves to your pokemon.”

“Yeah, that seems smart,” I commented.

Suddenly I heard a cry of a pokemon. We both rapidly stood up and were surrounded by our pokemon ready to protect us if necessary. Only for Honedge to appear through the trees. But my calm evaporated when I noticed a small blue ball with a green big leaf hanging from her cloth, when the blue ball cried, I knew it was a pokemon.

“What did you get yourself into Honedge?” Ash moaned, looking as if he was about to cry.

I honestly laughed out loud, when Honedge tried to shrug her shoulders. She does have any! I knew it was bad and this is supposed to be a serious situation, but it was so damn hilarious.


	12. II Pikachu's P.O.V

I was never more relieved by an interruption than when Honedge appeared yesterday out of the blue. I feel kind of bad by my relief because there was an Oddish hanging off her cloth, but I could no longer stand Jolteon and Buneary’s glaring contests. Also, the only issue with Oddish was the lack of food. After sharing our dinner with her, she was feeling ok. She even decided to join Dawn’s team!

I smiled in nostalgia; it was like our first journey. During our first forest, we met and caught our first two members of the family. It’s just a pity that no one in the team, other than the original members, have been able to meet Butterfree. Even Primeape and Muk haven’t met him! He and his mate could have lived happily at Professor Oak’s ranch. Luckily, Ash kept Butterfree’s Poke Ball so no one else can catch him. The same with Lapras.

I am happy that we finally had three of our old members back… but I could not help but wish we had them all.

Greedy I know…

I especially miss Larvitar. He was the first egg that we’ve ever helped hatch on our own. He was like a son to me. But he needed to return to his mother. Being able to help and experience Larvitar’s hatching was magical, in a way Donphan could not match. Donphan was Ash’s baby, he knows it, Ash knows it, everyone knows it. But Larvitar… he was mine. Ash was his big brother, his amazing uncle. However, I was his father. Which was another reason why I was angry with Umbreon. Taken away my chance of being there for Jolteon was unforgivable.

“Pikachu?” Ash called me out. “Are you ok buddy?” He asked me, worriedly.

“ ** _Ah!_** ” I squealed in pleasure, as he rubbed my cheeks the way I like. “ ** _I’m fine, Ash. Don’t worry._** ” I answered him, feeling bad for lying.

“Don’t believe you… but I’ll let it go.” He whispered back, and I honestly felt better. I love how he always understands me, even if we have a language barrier. Suddenly a Sunny Day was fired close by. “Pikachu.”

“ ** _On it Ash!_** ” I assured him, jumping off-shoulder and taking a defensive position in front of them. Ash pulled Dawn behind him and called Honedge out. “ ** _Show yourself!_** ” I shouted, Jolteon standing on my left as Honedge guarded our trainer and Dawn.

“Oh, our apologizes,” a handsome princelike guy appeared from within the trees, with a Budew by his side. The guy even had a goddamn Mew harp. “We were just training.”

“ ** _Our apologizes,_** ” Budew repeated, bowing slightly alongside her trainer.

Ash looked at me, and he relaxed when I nodded my head. They were clear. Jolteon and I returned to his side and he finally let Dawn from behind him, but he kept Honedge hanging on his belt like a real sword.

“No harm, no fool.” Ash goofed, but I knew there was an underline of disapproval. “But next time try not to train so close the route’s pathway.” He scolded lightly, a smile still in place as he puffed his chest a little to delicately show off his Ranger’s Badge on his vest.

The prince looked at the Badge for a second before smiling softly and theatrically bowing, Budew following suit, and said: “I understand.”

“Good,” Ash replied, finally relaxing completely and returning to his usual self.

“My name is Nando and this is my friend and partner Budew.” He presented himself, his comforting smile still in place.

“ ** _Nice to meet you,_** ” Budew greeted us.

He’s not such a bad guy. I can clearly see that his Budew is well-taken care of and he seems to truly care about her. Not to mention he has this beautiful scent of roses, not overpowering like Drew but a delicate and light scent. Not to mention anyone who can make my trainer blush, even a light one, cannot be bad.

“Nice to meet you!” Dawn called out happily. “My name is Dawn, and this is Ash!”

“Hi,” Ash finally recovered his speech, it made me chuckle. I paid no mind to his glare and continued laughing at my silly trainer. “These are my friends Honedge, Jolteon, and this annoying little rat is Pikachu,” he kneeled to ruffle the fur on my head.

“ ** _Rat?!_** ” I squeaked astonished. “ ** _I am no rat! I am a mouse!_** ” I growled, playfully shocking him slightly.

“ ** _It’s nice to meet you,_** ” Jolteon greeted them, excitedly to meet new people and pokemon.

“ ** _A pleasure to make your acquaintance,_** ” the ever polite Honedge said.

“Nice to meet you all,” Nando said with content and comforting smile. “If it is no trouble may I ask for a battle?” He said, directing his gaze towards my trainer.

“ ** _A battle? We are always up for one of those!_** ” I exclaimed, excitedly for a battle.

It’s been a while since I fought someone outside our family. While many of my brothers and sisters had various mock battles with Gary’s team, I simply stayed clear from them. Umbreon’s betrayal is still fresh in my memory.

“Sorry buddy, but you won’t be fighting this time around.” Ash apologized, ruffling my head one more time as I whined. “Look closer, that Budew is close to evolving. That’s why you want this battle right? To help her evolve into a Roselia.” Ash asked him, Nando looked surprised for a moment before smiling again and nodding his head calmly. “It wouldn’t be fair to pit you against her and would rob her of the chance to gain that little push she needs.”

“ ** _Ok,_** ” I sighed. “ ** _I understand. But the next time I’ll fight!_** ”

“I promise, buddy,” Ash replied with a smile, before standing back up. “I would love a fight! I recently caught a pokemon who I would give some experience. However, why don’t we move away, we might hurt someone by accident fighting here.”

“What a marvelous idea,” Nando said, following us into the forest.

“One on one?” Ash asked, just to be sure. When Nando nodded, Ash beamed and threw a Poke Ball. “Starly, I choose you!”

“Budew, if you may,” Nando said.

“ ** _My pleasure,_** ” Budew bowed, taking her place on the makeshift battlefield.

“Starly, Quick Attack!” My trainer called out.

“Dodge my friend.” Nando countered, dodging at last moment and when Starly had his back on Budew he called: “Now Bullet Seed.”

“Double Team to dodge.” Ash rapidly ordered, Starly was too close to dodge normally. The Bullet Seed took out four of the seven clones. “Surround her! Follow up with Gust.”

Soon Budew was caught by a small Twister formed by the three Starly around her.

“Counter with Mega Drain my friend," Nando called out when Budew was finally released from the handmade twister.

“Starly, Wing Attack.”

A direct hit! 

“Ash won this!” Dawn cheered beside me.

“ ** _Not yet._** ” I chuckled, seeing the familiar glow appear around our opponent. “ ** _If you want your pokemon to evolve, get them to Ash. He’ll always do the trick”_**.

“Amazing my friend! Now Solar Beam, Roselia!” Nando ordered, his smile did not change but I could see his eyes glinting with excitement when his pokemon evolved.

“Fast! Aerial Ace!” Ash called out, with Sunny Day in the action of course he would be wary of the attack’s speed.

Luckily Aerial Ace did the job to dodge the Solar Beam and deal the last blow. Honestly, only two days with Starly and he already learned Aerial Ace. With so many Flying Types Ash has truly learned how to train them fantastically. Still, Starly needs to up the speed and strength of the attack.

“That was a wonderful battle,” Nando said, recalling his Roselia. “Thank you, Ash.”

“Thank you, Nando, we had a lot of fun.” Ash chuckled, nuzzling Starly, who landed on his shoulder. “What about you my friend? Did you have fun?”

“ ** _I did it!_** ” Starly chippered, happily.

“Of course, you did! And you won. Well, done!” Ash congratulated the newest member.

“ ** _Thank you!_** ” Starly replied, as excited as Ash for having won the very first battle he’s been on.

“Would you like to travel with us to the city?” Dawn asked our new friend.

“I would love to, thank you,” Nando answered, smiling at both of them.

Though Ash was the only one who blushed. He has always been a fool for pretty princelike faces. I laughed at my trainer, especially after he stuttered a piece of advice to Nando about following his heart and doing both Contests and Gym Battles.

 _This journey will be fun_ , I thought amusedly as my trainer continued to blush and Nando checks Ash out. _Too much fun._


	13. III Dawn P.O.V

We have finally reached Jubilifie City!

We had parted ways with Nando after a night at the Pokemon Center and continued our journey. We spent the mornings on foot, the afternoons training, and the nights camping. While I did not catch any new pokemon, three had joined Ash’s team. He had caught a Turtwig, a Croagunk, and an Onix. How an Onix had managed to make all the way from the mountains to the forest I do not know. But from what Ash had told me, it seems that the Onix was obsessed with fighting and had made his journey to find new opponents.

Ash being the Ace Ranger he is, had decided that it would be safer for him to catch him and find him a trainer, rather than leave him there. He would only affect the environment and might even hurt innocent bystanders or other pokemon, searching for a good fight.

It seems that the only pokemon he was keeping from those he caught was Turtwig, Croagunk was a gift for a friend of his- a previous gym leader, I believe.

The first thing we did as soon as we got to Jubilifie City was to book a room in the Pokemon Center. It was contest season and they always fill rapidly. Then Ash helped me out with my shopping spree, contest products, seals, Pokétch. We then returned to the Pokemon Center to leave the bags and take a shower. I had gone first and decided to go inscribe into the contest circuit while Ash took his time to make some calls. 

“Hello, how may I help you?” Nurse Joy asked as I approached the counter.

“Hi! I would like to inscribe as a coordinator and also enter the Jubilifie City Contest.” I answered, excitedly.

“Of course,” Nurse Joy smiled back. “May I have a form of identification please?”

“Here,” I handed her my Pokedex.

“These are your Ribbon Case and your Poke Ball Capsule, with a few seals,” she said, placing the tray with the objects in front of me. “Here’s your Pokedex and Coordinator ID,” she passed them to me. “You are also already inscribed for this city’s next contest.”

“Thank you!” I thanked her, beaming with happiness as I accepted the objects. I was especially happy about the Pink Ribbon Case.

“You seem quite happy.” Ash’s voice commented, amusedly, from behind me.

I rapidly turned around to share my happiness with him but ended up frozen in shock. There he was, Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum, standing in the middle of the Pokemon Center’s Lobby, wearing a black suit, red shirt, and black tie with a Pikachu pin on it. Not to mention the leather belt with his Poke Balls. He looked smooth! The suit hugged his body perfectly and the red shirt brought out his eyes and made them a shade redder. Honestly, he had girls and boys equally just staring at him like idiots.

“W-what-what’s going on with the image change?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“I have a meeting with Jubilife City’s Ranger Station,” he answered. “I have to look the part,” he shrugged.

I could tell he felt uncomfortable in that suit, so I decided to change the topic: “Did you finish your call back home?”

“Yes, I called mom, Professor Oak, and my friends Misty and Brock.” He replied, his smile becoming less tense and more familiar. “I also asked for a couple of old friends and sent Croagunk to Brock. He was quite happy.”

“I would only imagine,” I replied, while Croagunk would never be my first pokemon of choice the simple idea of getting a new pokemon should bring a smile to anyone’s face. I was also quite curious about the new pokemon Ash brought to the journey, who could they be?

“You would never guess who called me?” He continued, with a twinkle in his eyes. I simply shook my head, no idea who could have been. “Reggie, Paul’s brother,” my eyes widened at that. “It seems that Paul has decided to trade his Chimchar, but Reggie hasn't been so lucky finding a good trainer to take him. Or at least one that was willing to trade a pokemon acceptable by Paul's standers. So, he decided to see if I was up to trade one of my pokemon or if I knew of someone to trade with. We were both in luck,” he laughed.

“You are trading Onix with Paul?!” I exclaimed, not believing my ears.

“Look, Onix’s attitude is already an issue, plus the fact that he is powerful and could evolve at any minute, only needing a Metal Coat… I can’t give him to any trainer, especially not a newbie,” he began explaining. “Paul has powerful pokemon keep him in check and their mentalities are compatible. Onix wants to fight and get stronger more than anything, through any means necessary. He will be a good fit in Paul’s team… I also don’t want to send Onix to rehab simply because I could not find him a good trainer.”

“Rehab?” I asked him, confused.

“Pokemon Rehabilitation,” he answered with a grim look, nuzzling Pikachu who had jumped on his shoulder. “It is when pokemon who had suffered at the hands of humans for various reasons like poaching, abuse, or abandonment, are treated so they can start trusting humans again. Otherwise, they’ll remain untrusting and sometimes even react violently to the presence of humans. There are cases that pokemon did not suffer from humans and are simply too violent to be left in the wild, attacking humans for no reason. In those cases, these pokemon are also sent to rehabilitation centers. But this is not the case for Onix, he simply needs someone to keep an eye on him. Going to one of them will be like tearing a part of who he is away.”

“That’s awful” I gasped, horrified.

“Yeah, which is why I am so happy that I could reach a deal with Reggie,” he continued. “Not to mention, I got a Chimchar out of it.”

“You only just started your journey in Sinnoh, and you already have two out of the three Regional Starters,” I commented, surprised by the fact. After all, Regional Starters are one of the most difficult Pokemon to catch in the wild.

“It isn’t really that much of a surprise for us,” Ash chuckled, while Pikachu was snickering. “I have now nine Regional Starters.”

“Shut up!” I gasped. “I do not believe you.”

“Nurse Joy, can you check out my Trainer’s Page and tell her if I am lying or not?” He requested, giving his Pokedex to the nurse who blushed and stuttered a yes.

“Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town, has a Bulbasaur, a Charizard, a Squirtle, a Meganium, a Quilava, a Croconaw, a Sceptile, a Turtwig, and a Chimchar. A total of nine Regional Starters,” Nurse Joy read out slowly as if she could not believe what she was reading.

“I cannot believe you sometimes,” I sighed .“What else?” I asked, jokingly. I was chuckling but stopped once he smiled apologetically. “Really? Come on!” He can’t be real.

“More than me, it’s Aipom.” He replied. “She has decided to become a full-time contest pokemon. You know that’s not something I do… and I was hoping you could take good care of her for me.”

I looked at him stunned. I could not believe what he was asking me to do. From the small time I have known Ash, I realized how important is his pokemon to him. The trust he was putting in me was… humbling to say the least.

“I can’t take her, just like that.” I finally answered. “She is part of your family.”

“She is also an unhappy pokemon,” he replied with a sad smile. “I love her, and she will always be part of my family… but sometimes trainers need to be strong and do right for their pokemon. Mine does not want to fight; she wants to perform. I want her to fulfill her dream. Can you help me?” He asked once more, my heart was beating like crazy. “If anything you can see this as a delayed trade. You can repay me whenever you catch a pokemon that prefers fighting over contests. What do you say?”

“Then I would be honored” I sighed, smiling at him.

I then gave Nurse Joy my Pokedex again while Ash gave her Aipom’s Poke Ball. The whole process took less than ten minutes and I was the proud trainer of a fourth pokemon. Who could have believed that I started my journey less than a week ago?

After we got our belongings back from Nurse Joy, we moved towards the training area of the Pokemon Center.

“Will you be ok on your own?” Ash asked me, concerned.

“Relax, I’ll be fine,” I assured him. “I am not on my own, by the way. I have four friends with me.” I tapped on my Poke Balls, making him smile. “Go! You don’t want to be late for your meeting.”

He smiled, calling out Jolteon, before jogging away. I smiled at his back and tried to get rid of the feeling that something was about to go totally wrong. I then brought out all of my pokemon.

“Ok guys, first of all, let’s welcome Aipom to the team,” I said, smiling at how my pokemon celebrated. “Second, we’ve officially entered the Jubilifie City Contest,” more cheering from my pokemon. “So, we’ll need to train hard and decide who will be competing this time around”, they finally stopped talking and began looking at me seriously. “We’ll start with reading your progress,” I continued taking out my Pokedex.

**Pokemon** **:** Piplup.

 **Gender** **:** Male.

 **Ability** **:** Torrent. 

**Type** **:** Water.

 **Move set:** Bubble Beam, Peck, Headbutt, Bide.

 **Egg moves:** Icy Wind.

 **NOTE** **:** The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

**Pokemon** **:** Buneary.

 **Gender** **:** Female.

 **Ability** **:** Limber. 

**Type** **:** Normal.

 **Move set:** Bounce, Ice Beam, Dizzy Punch, Tackle.

 **Egg moves:** Sweet Kiss.

 **NOTE** **:** The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

**Pokemon** **:** Oddish.

 **Gender** **:** Female.

 **Ability** **:** Chlorophyll. 

**Type** **:** Grass/Poison.

 **Move set:** Sweet Scent, Stun Spore, Mega Drain, Sleep Powder, Poison Powder.

 **Egg moves:** Nature Power.

 **NOTE** **:** The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

**Pokemon** **:** Aipom.

 **Gender** **:** Female.

 **Ability** **:** Skill Link. 

**Type** **:** Normal.

 **Move set:** Scratch, Swift, Fury Swipes, Agility, Focus Punch, Double Team, Double Hit.

 **Egg moves:** Bounce.

 **NOTE** **:** The egg move has yet to have been unlocked.

As expected Aipom is the most advanced. No surprise there, as she was trained by Ash before. Using her for the battle round is very tempting… but as Ash taught me, I need to think of various variables before making a decision. Aipom has not been my pokemon for an hour yet and both of us getting gin syntony will be hard. Not to mention she has been trained to gym battles until now, she will need to get used to contests first. Oddish has a varied move pool but all effect moves. That leaves Piplup and Buneary. Buneary has been in the wild for a while before catching her and must have had her fair share of battles. Not to mention Normal types as Ash has told me are the most flexible types out there…

“Ok!” I clapped my hands together. “Piplup, you’ll be in charge of the appeal round and Buneary you will be on the fighting round. Got it?” They replied with exuberance. “Then, let’s train!”


	14. I Charizard's P.O.V

“Everyone, come out!” I heard Ash say and the next thing I know I was in the middle of a hall alongside Pikachu, Jolteon, Primeape, Pidgeot, Sceptile, Meganium, Croconaw, Honedge, and Espeon.

The building was big with high ceilings and a lot of room. It would give out a pristine and regal feeling if it weren’t for all the Rangers running from one side to the other. Weapons were being prepared and pokemon out. It’s as if they were getting ready for war. Even Ash was wearing his Ranger’s outfit, which was a rare sight on its own.

What was going on? Ash never calls me unless it’s for training camp or a regional tournament. But here I was, back with him within less than a week. And I really don’t like how tense Pikachu looked as if he was expecting an attack at any moment. Or the serious expression on Ash’s face.

“Listen up, guys,” he started. “This is serious, and I need you to bring your A-game. We are Jubilifie City and all we were supposed to do was give out a report to this city precinct’s Head Ranger, but we ended up receiving a report from our old friends about Hunter J’s whereabouts,” now that got our attention.

Hunter J was the classified mission, other than Team Galactic, that the Ranger’s Commission had given to Ash when he said he was going to Sinnoh. Every veteran in Ash’s team knows about the horror’s that hunter has inflicted on pokemon. In the Charizard Valley there a few Charizard that had fallen into her claws before being saved and transferred there… the stories they told only fueled my anger and made me wish Ash would find her soon. Who would have thought they would meet within the week of the start of his journey?

“She seems to be targeting a Luxray pack that lives in the city’s surrounding forest,” he continued, making us all growl in anger. “I know guys, she is horrible, but I can’t have you losing your cool. This will be a difficult operation,” he warned us. ”The first one I’ll be in charge of… I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing right now.” He sighed.

 _Good!_ I growled in my head. _This means no one will stop us from beating the crap out of her!_

“Jolteon, Meganium, Croconaw, I need you three on the ground. Jolteon uses that speed and tells every pokemon in the area to leave, you will be in the Rescue Team that Ranger Sarah is in charge of. If you see any of them getting hurt, get them to Meganium.” He told the youngest member of the family.

“ ** _Will do Ash-oniichan!_** ” Jolteon said.

We all looked relieved at the news. She might be strong, but she is also very young and inexperienced. Not to mention she still has a lot of ground to improve. So, knowing she will be out of danger way, had us very happy.

“Meganium you will be in charge of the medic team, so if anyone gets hurt fix them. There will be Physic Pokemon next to you, that will be in charge of transferring pokemon from the airship when they need healing.” He gave out the order. “Croconaw, you and other Water Pokemon will be in charge of containing the collateral damage if a fire starts… which most likely will happen. Dance all you want but be a leader they can depend on.”

“ ** _You got it, Ash! We will make you proud,_** ” Meganium answered.

“ ** _Leave it to us!”_** Croconaw added.

I snickered when Sceptile sighed, surely relieved that his lady was not joining the fight. But at the same time grumbled, Meganium is Ash’s pokemon she can handle herself all right. She doesn’t need a guy to protect her. Then again, she smells different than usual… could it be…

“Pidgeot you’ll be my transport to the airship; you will get me in and out of that place. While I am inside you will take care of the perimeter, alongside other Flying Pokemon destroy the weapons that the airship possesses.” He continued.

“ ** _Don’t worry I’ll get you in and out safely,_** ” Pidgeot replied, in a composed manner.

How can she keep her calm in every situation, I'll never know?

“Pikachu, you stay with me at all times buddy,” Ash told our leader. “So, will Espeon. I need you to keep a psychic connection between all of us at all times. I will need to be able to give out orders if there’s a change of plans.”

“ ** _Leave it to me, master._** ” Espeon, the haughty queen, said. I believe Ash is the only one who gets that much respect outside her own little family.

Pikachu only nodded his head and rubbed his cheeks against Ash’s.

“Honedge, your position depends on where Hunter J will be. If she is on her Salamence, then you will alongside Charizard and protect him from her. Remember she uses guns with real bullets, I can’t have Charizard fighting a dragon and bullets.” I grinned at his words, so I am in charge of getting rid of that menace. So many Charizard fell because of him and I will finally get my revenge. “If you can, take possession of her Poke Balls without her noticing. If she is not on her Salamence, you’ll be in charge of the Ghost Team. They will be stealing Poke Balls to limit the damage that could be done by Hunter J’s team.”

“ ** _I’ll have my team deal with them swiftly,_** ” Honedge replied, in a serious manner like always.

“Charizard… I’m pretty sure you know what you will be doing.” My reply was a bloodthirsty smile. “Stay close to the airship, you will be using your Mega Form.” He ordered me, giving me my Mega Stone Bracelet, which I greedily took. He also handed hers to Pidgeot. "Just in case," he told her.

“Primeape, Sceptile, I will be leaving you in the care of other Rangers. Help them defeat Hunter J’s grunts, will you?” Ash asked.

“ ** _We will take care of them!_** ” Primeape answered, bowing. Sceptile only nodded his head, in a cool-like manner.

“Good! Then, we better arrest her with the change we were given!” He exclaimed, receiving roars of agreement from us.

We then proceeded to meet the teams and other Rangers. The Rangers they had met a few days ago, Sarah and Josh, they’ll be working as Ash’s lieutenants, as most of the Elite Rangers of the zone came to help and work under Ash. The Head Ranger, with a group of Rangers, will be in charge of protecting the city in case anything goes wrong.

It seems to be that there will be no issue with working with others. The Rangers look at Ash with hero-worship eyes and in return their pokemon look at us with respect. Especially Pikachu, Sceptile, and I. It seems that the stories of us dealing with Legendary Pokemon and winning spread. We were legends among the force… and I am quite liking it.

All joking aside, we moved swiftly. Firstly, locating the Luxray pack and taking them to safety, while the Rescue Team spread around the area. The Healing Team took a position at the cave, in which the pack had made their den, with the Water Team hiding there until it was their time to act.

I, myself, was being covered by the trees, like many others in the Flying Team, waiting for the airship to appear. The Ghost Team chose to hide in their trainer’s shadow, in Honedge's case, my shadow.

Just as I was beginning to get bored, they appeared, and the Flying Team took flight. As Ash had expected they light things up with their lasers and Salamence. I rapidly took flight, towards my trainer’s side, there Honedge jumped from me to Ash.

“It seems that J is staying inside, are you ready Charizard?” He asked me, with an excited smile.

I smiled back. He was still the same Ash, even when in charge of a Ranger’s operation, the idea of a good fight excites him. Just like me. It also helps that Mega Evolution is awesome!

I began to shine, my scales turning black and my flames blue. I felt powerful, I felt strong, I felt invincible… but the best feeling, was the bond that now took physical place between my trainer and me. We were one, sharing the same mind, soul, and will.

“ ** _You are done for!”_** I roared, attacking the annoying dragon.

Blows and attacks were exchanged for a long time. It did not help that Hunter J Mega Evolved Salamence as well. The bastard had much more experience with it and it showed. But I had defeated a Legendary, without even Mega Evolving, and was not worried. If anything, I was extending the fight as it has been a long time since I had someone keep up with me like this. It had my blood boiling.

 _‘Water Team report!’_ I heard the voice of Ash, through Espeon’s mental link.

 ** _‘Dealing with the fires, boss!’_** Croconaw replied. **_‘They are contained, but someone works on those lasers!’_**

 _‘Pidgeot, let’s Mega Evolve!’_ Ash called out. A blinding light shone on my left. _‘Deal with the lasers!’_

 ** _‘On it!’_** Pidgeot’s regal voice resonated through the link, and an Aerial Ace later the lasers were done with.

 ** _‘Thank you!’_** Croconaw said. **_‘Now we can finish dealing with the fires and support the other teams that need it.’_**

 ** _‘Don’t mention it!’_** Pidgeot replied, leaving her Mega Evolved form. **_‘We will continue giving our support by attacking the airship from outside.’_**

 _‘I am loving the automatic translations, Espeon.’_ We heard Ash say, that was just for show- Espeon's bragging. _‘Healing Team?’_

 ** _‘We are good, there is not a lot of pokemon hurts.’_** Meganium said. **_‘Most are pokemon of the area that gut hurt by the fire or falling trees, thanks to the lasers. We’ve also been taking care of the Poke Balls the Ghost Team has been stealing from the grunts.’_**

 _‘Good. Rescue Team?’_ Ash asked.

 ** _‘Ranger Sarah is saying that we are almost done with the area, all that’s left to do is check out if anyone was left behind and take them to Aunt Meganium’._** The youngest member’s voice could be heard, making many of us quite relieved.

 _‘Well done Jolteon.’_ Ash praised her. ‘ _Sceptile, Primeape?’_

 ** _‘There are more grunts than we thought of,’_** Sceptile clicked his tongue.

 ** _‘But nothing we can’t handle!’_** Primeape voiced.

 ** _‘The Ghost Team has been quite a lot of help, stealing Poke Balls and giving them to the Rangers so they can recall the enemy’s pokemon before having Psychic Pokemon send them to_** **_Meganium’s team.’_** Sceptile continued.

 _‘Good. Well done Ghost Team!’_ Ash praised. _‘I want you back with me Honedge, we are about to face Hunter J.’_

 ** _‘My pleasure,’_** Honedge's smooth reply came through- I almost forgot she was there, she surely is too quiet.

I honestly did not give it much of a thought, the fact that Ash was facing against one of the most wanted hunters in the regions. He had Pikachu, Espeon, and Honedge with him. We had faced off many disasters and Legendary Pokemon, a puny human was not such a big obstacle.

Or at least, that’s what I thought until the moment I heard a bomb going off _inside_ the airship and saw Ash falling.

 ** _‘Ash!’_** We all shouted through the link.

Pidgeot flew as fast as she could, trying to get to her trainer’s side in time… but she was too far. So, I tried to get to his side, but that damn Salamence kept blocking the way. It was only when the Mega Evolution suddenly stopped, and I saw Ash crashing down the trees that I snapped.

Blaze took over me in a way it had not done since I was a Charmeleon. My trainer, my friend, and protector are… I don’t remember what happened next, only that when I regained my consciousness, I was holding Salamence down on a big crater. The dragon looked half-dead, but I could not care as tears run down my cheeks. The pain and misery I felt could not begin to comprehend were taking over me, as I sobbed for my trainer.

 _‘Guys! Guys! I am ok!’_ I suddenly heard the voice of Ash in my head, I looked up startled. It was a foreign pokemon trying to make a mental link with my family, which I would normally loath, but hearing Ash’s voice brought me nothing but relief. _‘I am fine!’_

 ** _‘Ash!’_** Everyone called out in relief and happiness.

 ** _‘Ash! You are alive!’_** Pikachu cried out; his relief palpable in his voice.

 ** _‘I am so sorry Ash!’_** Pidgeot sobbed. **_‘I failed you.’_**

 _‘Do not worry about it, I don’t blame you.’_ Ash assured her. She did not reply, but I could understand her motives. I felt just the same. _‘Feraligatr used an Aqua Jet and soften my landing.’_

 ** _‘Feraligatr?’_** Espeon spoke up in surprise. **_‘The crocodile evolved?’_** She asked what everyone was thinking.

 _‘Yeah… to save me.’_ Ash answered in a tender tone, which only made me feel worse. _‘Meganium, I need you to get ready. A Psychic Pokemon will be transporting us there and Feraligatr needs healing.’_

 ** _‘On it!’_** She replied happily. **_‘I will also check you out, Ash.’_**

 _‘Charizard, Sarah, and a bunch of other Rangers are heading in your direction.’_ He told me. _‘Let them take care of Salamence and then get to the Medical Team. Pidgeot and Jolteon, too. Got it?’_

 ** _‘Yeah,’_** I replied, still breathless, hearing the girls give out similar replies.

 _My trainer was alive, I had not lost him._ I wept internally.

 _‘What happened with Hunter J?’_ Ash asked.

I saw the Rangers coming and rapidly flew off towards my human. I still had to see it to believe it completely, and not think it might be a delusion or a Psychic Pokemon’s idea of a sick joke.

 ** _‘After you stopped her from jumping off the ship and escape, I shocked her and Espeon put her to sleep. We are waiting on Josh to take care of her, but he is trying to land the airship as we speak. So, Espeon has her immobilized with Psychic.’_** Pikachu answered. **_‘Are you truly ok Ash?’_**

 ** _‘He has various bruises and scratches from the trees, not to mention a dislocated shoulder from the hard landing.’_** Meganium answered for our trainer, huffing as she spoke. **_‘But other than that, he is ok. The trees broke the fall. Feraligatr had some cracked ribs from receiving Ash, but I fixed him with Heal Pulse. Other than healing his bruises and cuts, I can’t do anything’ she said disappointed ‘Ash will have to wait until we get him to a Nurse Joy to fix that shoulder.’_**

That only had me flying faster. It seems that I took the fight quite far away, from the area of the fight. I do not know if that was better or worse. But what I _do_ know, is the immediate sheer relief I felt when I finally got there and found the rest of the team there. They were battered and bruised, but nothing Meganium could not quickly fix. It was only Ash the one who looked worse for wear, holding his left arm.

I felt so relieved, but what I did not expect was the look of pure horror on my family’s face, on my trainer’s face, as I appeared. I could not understand why not until I looked down and noticed all the blood coming out of me. It seems that the bastard dragon got me good before I took him out. I must have not noticed because of all the adrenaline.

What I did notice was Ash crying out my name as I blacked out.


	15. I Zoey's P.O.V

“Well done Piplup!” I heard a girl exclaim, as I reached the Pokemon Center’s training grounds. “Now try to put more power into your Peck!”

There I found a girl about my age with black hair and a pink dress, training with her pokemon. She had a Buneary, Oddish, and Aipom by her side as her Piplup demonstrated the beauty of his beak. Piplup’s beak grew in size as he put more power into his attack.

 _She’s clearly a coordinator,_ I thought, pleased.

As I was about to approach, her Aipom suddenly took a defensive position her tail raised and ready to attack. Glameow jumped in front of me to defend me. But I did not even notice that, I was too deep in thought. That Aipom was different from the rest of her team. She is much more aware of her surroundings, unlike the rest of the team and their trainer that were too engrossed by the training, she noticed me approaching and rapidly took a practiced defensive position.

 _Was the Aipom part of the girls’ team? She was too battle-ready for having been trained by a coordinator._ I mussed to myself.

“Ah! Hi!” The girl's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. She had finally noticed me and turned around to greet me with a beaming smile. I blushed slightly, she’s very pretty. “Do you want to use the training ground too?” She asked, crouching down to pat the Aipom- the monkey pokemon finally relaxing. “Do you mind sharing?”

“N-no. We can divide it into two,” I answered. “Are you entering the Contest? I’m Zoey Nozomi, by the way.”

“My name is Dawn Berlitz. Yes! It will be my… our first Contest.” She rapidly corrected herself, smiling at her pokemon who smiled back. There was a familiarity around them that did not speak about a newbie trainer, but she clearly was one- where did it come from? And from where have I heard the last name Berlitz before? “Are you entering as well?”

“Yes, I am. It will be my third Contest,” I answered.

“Do you have a ribbon already?” She asked, her eyes shining with excitement.

“Yeah, I do.” I chuckled, showing her my ribbon case- she’s so cute!

“That’s so cool!” she exclaimed, her pokemon cooing in admiration as well.

All except for Aipom. She did not look impressed by it. She was clearly not a newly caught pokemon.

“Is this your team?” I asked, very curious about the origin of the monkey pokemon.

“Yes!” She said, clearly proud. “This is my starter Piplup!”

“Pip-Piplup!” He exclaimed, puffing his chest in pride.

I heard Glameow snickering and I barely could hold on to my own laughter. They are all so adorable!

So, I just said: “Nice to meet you Piplup.”

“This is Buneary, the first pokemon I caught.” She continued, rubbing the bunny pokemon’s head. “This one is Oddish, she decided to join us a couple of days ago.”

“Nice to meet you,” I smiled at the young pokemon, who smiled back.

“This one is the newest member Aipom,” she simply said, sharing a secret smile with the monkey pokemon.

“Well, these are my oldest partner and starter Glameow and my mischievous Misdreavus.” I presented, laughing when Misdreavus decided to jump out of my shadow and scare Dawn and her team. Once more it was Aipom the one who rapidly jumped and attacked, but as she’s a Normal Type none of them got hurt. “Not used to Ghost Pokemon?” I asked seeing the reaction.

“Nah, Ash has a Ghost Type but Honedge is quite the calm pokemon with a nobility aura around her.” She answered, holding Aipom back with a hug. “Sorry about her, she used to be part of Ash’s team and she’s used to jumping into a fight at any given moment.”

“Gym trainer?” I asked trying to hide my disdain, not liking the idea of a coordinator being so closed to a gym trainer. We shouldn’t mix, we each should stay at our respective sides.

“Yes, but she’s mostly sensitive because Ash is also an Ace Ranger.” She answered, taking me by surprise.

A Ranger’s pokemon was given to a coordinator? It did calm me down a little bit. I could not be angry at a Ranger, especially an Ace one, who is constantly risking his life for pokemon and to keep the rest of us safe. No wonder Aipom is so high strung, she is used to being constantly on the lookout for danger.

“May I ask how a Ranger’s pokemon ended up with a coordinator?” I inquired.

“Ash is my mentor and traveling partner!” She replied, happily. “All his pokemon love w good fight but Aipom seemed to prefer performances, so he gave her to me.”

“A gym trainer is your mentor?” I asked with disdain, this time not bothering to hide it.

“Oh, no. Don’t tell me you are one of those.” She sighed, clearly disappointed. I stepped back as if had slapped me, at her clearly frustrated expression. “Look, Ash is teaching me how to travel, how to catch pokemon, about Pokemon Type and their advantages, about abilities… he is teaching me the bases of being a trainer. Which both gym trainers and coordinators need. Not how to be a coordinator. If anything, I hoped he would teach me more!” She huffed. “Even if he did, I just don’t understand what’s the issue with it! Why does this rivalry cause so much resentment? Gym trainers can be coordinators too, or are you saying Wallace should stick to battles just because he is a Gym Leader?”

I looked at her shocked but could not say anything in return. She was right, why do we make such a big issue about this rivalry? Wallace is a Gym Leader and a Top Coordinator that even has a Cup on his name here in Sinnoh. Why do I degrade gym trainers when that’s what I hate about them when the roles are reversed?

“I’m sorry,” I finally said. “You are right… it’s just that most gym trainers think of themselves as stronger and better than us. It makes me really mad” I confessed, smiling to my pokemon- who got closer to comfort me “It became a simple annoyance but turned into an unhealthy rivalry.”

“I think I understand,” she replied, I sighed relieved when her smile returned. “Ash tried to explain it to me, why some coordinators wouldn’t be fine with him being my mentor. I thought he was exaggerating, but it seems that he was right… also, they are stronger.” I looked at her shocked. “Don’t get me wrong! Being a coordinator is as good as being a gym trainer, we work as hard if not more to show the best sides of our pokemon. We need to think about our attacks and try to take advantage of our opponents' attacks but make them look good at the same time. It’s hard… Ash himself told me about how much work coordinators put not only on their appeals but fighting. He confessed that it was something he could never manage.” She continued.

Her words were making me start to like that Ace Ranger. At least, he understood the work and effort our teams put in our performances.

“Then what do you mean by, ‘they are stronger’?” I asked her confused.

“Because they are,” she simply replied. “I don’t mean that simply because of Ash, he is an _Ace_ Ranger after all.” I nodded, agreeing with her. Ace Trainers, especially, Rangers are some of the strongest trainers out there, they gained their ranks somehow. “The issue is that we focus more on control and appeal. Gym trainers don’t care much about that, they focus more on strength. Even those who prefer speed like Ash, have many pokemon that can take out any coordinator’s team on their own… even when attacked by all six of them.” I blinked at her surprised. “They strive to defeat the Elite Four, to become a Champion… can you really say you can match them on that? That you are or even want, to be that strong? Unless you are both a gym trainer and coordinator, like Wallace, you can’t say you can match them on strength.” I looked away, not wanting to face the truth she had laid down in front of me. “But, we can defeat them on control. On being too awesome! And show them what coordinators are made off!”

I looked at her and saw her eyes shining with passion. Not the unhealthy hate I felt… used to feel, but a glow showing off her desire to become better and show everyone what she was made of.

“Then let’s show them all how great we are!” I held out my hand for her.

“Agreed!” She answered, shaking back my hand.

We then decided to train together until our pokemon could no longer continue. It was incredible. I just have never trained with someone else and it was so much fun. Being with Dawn is too much fun…

However, things did go south again when we re-entered the Pokemon Center. The place was filled with Rangers and the nurses had their hands full going from one Ranger to the other. Rapidly Dawn’s face lost all of its colors.

She rushed towards the front desk and desperately tried to get a nurse’s attention. I followed her after a minute of shock. The bandages and blood of some of the Rangers had me stunned. Normally you would see the pokemon hurt… not the trainer.

“Miss! Miss! Anyone, please! Is Ash Ketchum here? Is he hurt?!” Hearing Dawn shout like that really hit me, this was happening. It was no T.V drama or news, my friend’s friend might be hurt in duty…

“Dawn,” a female Ranger called out from our left. “Is that you?”

“Sarah?! Oh, Arceus! Are you ok?” Dawn asked her worriedly.

The blonde Ranger had bandages wrapped tightly around her right arm, her Monferno staying very close to her.

“I am ok. Just a little burnt from the fire,” she assured her kindly. “You’re looking for Ace Ranger Ketchum, right? He is ok, he simply dislocated his shoulder. But his Charizard was hurt pretty bad, he needed surgery. Come with me, I’ll take you in. Your friend can come as well.”

“Thank you,” Dawn sighed, tension bleeding out. She then turned to me with a hopeful look in her eyes, and I knew I had to go with her. “Fire? Ash told me he simply had to give out his report to the Head Ranger. What happened?”

“I would normally say it’s confidential, but the reporters got a hold of the news and it’s everywhere.” Sarah sighed. “Ace Ranger Ketchum was supposed to come to give out his report about the Onix issue and corroborate about the Ariados incident… not to mention check in about one of the secret missions he came to Sinnoh for.” I looked at the Ranger stunned that she would reveal something like that. I felt like I should not be hearing this. “But then a call came in from one of Ace Ranger Ketchum’s contacts, Hunter J had been spotted flying to Jubilifie City and she was planning to poach a pack of Luxray.”

“Hunter J?!” I asked her shocked.

 _The most feared pokemon hunter in Sinnoh had been so close?!_ I screamed in my head, my hands going to Glameow and Misdreavus Poke Ball.

“Yes, her.” Sarah sighed. “Hunter J was one of the missions Ace Ranger Ketchum had been assigned.”

 _Who was this guy? And how good was he for Sinnoh to assigned him such a mission?_ I thought, not being able to process all of this information. _It’s something an Elite Four should have been handling. Is Dawn really safe traveling with such a trainer?_

“Was this what Josh had wanted to say last time we met?” Dawn asked.

“No… that was another mission,” Sarah replied, secretively. “When this tip came, we just knew we had to take it. Hunter J is well known for vanishing and finding her again would have proven close to impossible. So, we rapidly gathered a team under Ace Ranger Ketchum's command and took off. The mission itself went smoothly, the Healing Team took care of pokemon so well that Nurse Joy and her team had almost nothing to do other than a checkup. And the Rangers hurt were mostly in the Rescue Team, we had to go through falling trees and fires to get the wild pokemon out of the battle zone.”

“That doesn’t explain how Ash got hurt or why his Charizard is in surgery?” Dawn asked, confused- then again, so was I.

“Ace Ranger Ketchum's duty was for his pokemon to lead the teams and for him to apprehend Hunter J. He fulfilled both spectacularly, but Hunter J tried to escape by blowing a hole into her airship.” We both gasped at the Ranger’s words. “Ace Ranger Ketchum managed to still apprehend her… but he fell off the hole. He was rapidly saved by his Feraligatr!” She added rapidly when she noticed Dawn was close to tears. “He is truly fine Dawn, just a nasty dislocated shoulder,” she tried to reassure her.

“One that hurts like a Tauros' stampede,” a dry but amused voice said from in front of us.

There stood a boy a few years older than us, he had a Pikachu and Jolteon by his side and a sword-like pokemon hanging off his belt. He was wearing his Ranger’s outfit and he was quite handsome with a lean body, black hair, and brown-reddish eyes. What really caught my attention was his arm…

“Ash!” Dawn exclaimed and it looked like she was about to rush towards him when suddenly a Primeape and Espeon appeared in front of him. The quick answer and defensive practiced stance, just like Aipom had reacted. He did train the monkey pokemon. “Em…”

“Calm down, she is a friend,” Ash chuckled. “Sorry, after the mission everyone’s quite tense.”

“What about the rest of your team?” Sarah asked.

“Feraligatr and Pidgeot are in their Poke Balls, they are too big to move inside.” He answered. “Especially with everyone going from one place to the other. Sceptile is with Meganium and… we are all waiting for Charizard to wake up,” he looked sadly through the mirror on his right.

And there laid a battered and bandaged Charizard. You can see he was a powerful pokemon even when unconscious. 

“H-how is he?” Dawn asked him softly.

“Luckily no organ was damaged, but he did lose a lot of blood,” Ash answered, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Nurse Joy got to him on time and he’ll make a full recovery. Let’s just hope he follows her instructions and not fight for a month, or his stitches will rip.” That got a laugh out of all his pokemon. “Have you heard of Josh?”

“Yeah, Head Ranger, and he met up with Lucian and Champion Cynthia. Hunter J is being safely transferred to a holding facility and without her Salamence there’s no way she’ll be able to escape.” Sarah’s response had us all sighing in relief. “What happened to Meganium? She was perfectly fine the last time I saw her.”

“Oh, she is. She just overworked herself and my pokemon seem not to tell me a thing!” He huffed. “She’s pregnant. Hence why Sceptile is with her and not with us.”

“Oh, my,” Sarah said, looking rattled for the first time since I met her.

“Congratulations Ash!” Dawn exclaimed, beaming with happiness.

“Congratulation Ace Ranger Ketchum,” I finally spoke up, feeling that this event should be celebrated.

“Thank you…” he replied.

“Zoey Nozomi,” I informed him. “I’m a coordinator friend of Dawn’s.”

“Look at you, already making coordinator friends. They grow up so fast.” Ash hummed, eyes glittering with mischief, when Dawn started shouting at him. They brought out a smile on everyone’s faces, they acted just like siblings. “Nice to meet you.”

I looked at this Ranger, this gym trainer, who had risked his life to catch the poacher that had all of Sinnoh terrorized for over a decade and all my anger and resentment simply vanished.

So, I smiled back and sincerely said: “It's nice to meet you too.”


	16. IV Ash’s P.O.V

I took a deep breath and sighed. I stretched my back and neck, closing my eyes as I took in the rays of sunshine.

Yesterday had been too close...

I shudder at the memory of Charizard bleeding out and passing out in front of me. I had failed them one more time. But this time it had almost cost me a member of my family.

 ** _'Master?'_** Espeon called me out, through our telepathic link.

I stopped looking at the sky, to turn my gaze towards my pokemon. There, in front of me, stood Pikachu, Jolteon, Honedge, Espeon, Feraligatr, Pidgeot, Primeape, Sceptile, and Meganium. The last two leaning against each other. They all had the same look of concern.

"I am sorry," I finally said. "I had failed you."

' ** _What?!_** ' They all exclaimed at the same time, with stunning expression.

' ** _We were the ones that failed you!_** ' Pikachu shouted. ' ** _We should have protected you! Kept you from... from..._** '

 ** _'If anyone should be blamed is me!'_** The normally collected and calm Pidgeot shrieked, flapping her wings. **_'My job was to take you and get you from the airship safe... I failed you...'_**

Tears started to fall from her eyes, making me heartache.

"Oh, no! Pidgeot, it was not your fault." I cried out, throwing my unhurt arm around her. "You did your best. Feraligatr saved me."

 ** _"He shouldn't have! We should have been strong enough not to have to rely on one of us evolving to save you."_** Primeape growled. **_"What worth was all this training if you still end up being thrown off a plane?!"_**

I looked at Primeape shocked by his words, then I looked around my other pokemon- who clearly shared his feeling. Did they really feel as if they had failed me? Then again, I did feel that I had failed them... Professor Oak is right, like trainer like pokemon.

When did I stopped looking at them and only focused on my misery? While I was moping about being a bad trainer they must have been wondering if they were good enough too. Because I would too if I saw my pokemon suffering in silence and not being able to help.

"I am... was childish," I confessed, gaining their attention. "I started my journey unprepared, knowing nothing about pokemon. Be it how to catch them or about type advantages. Heck, I didn't even know how to gain Pikachu's trust and friendship." I chuckled humorlessly. "I didn't train any of you properly, I could have hurt you guys... I did hurt Pikachu when I sent him against Lt. Surge. I practically abandoned Kingler, Muk, and the Tauros herd back at Professor Oak's ranch. It took me another two years to realize that and try to become a better trainer... but even then, it was not enough. I had to get better so I would not fail any of you again. But even then, I still failed you, Charizard ended up in surgery and Meganium didn't even tell me she was pregnant! What kind of trainer am I?!"

 ** _'The best!'_** Espeon was the one who finally spoke up, taking us all by surprise. **_'Do you really think I would call anyone Master? You might possess my Poke Ball but if you had not gained my respect, I would have never called you that.'_**

 ** _'She's right, Master.'_** Honedge cut in. **_'You might have failed back then, but you did not give up. You rose from the ashes, a new trainer. Your perseverance and the ability to be able to keep your mirth is what makes you a respectable and a worthy master.'_**

 ** _'Back then we were all children... we still are by age.'_** Pikachu finally spoke up, placing a paw on my knee. **_'We all had a lot of learning... we experienced too much, which made us mature before we had to.'_**

 ** _'But we did it together,'_** Meganium cut in. **_'I'm sorry I didn't tell you about our pregnancy. It's just that you've been so sad and preoccupied lately, that I did not want to add to your worries. You needed me and all I even wanted was to be of use to you.'_**

 ** _'You did not fail us,'_** Sceptile uncharacteristically cut in. **_'Charizard is leagues ahead of that Salamence and could have won that battle at any moment. But he saw the opportunity to have a good fight and prologued it,'_** he took a deep breath. **_'Then you fell, and he lost it. He got hurt by being reckless, not because he was not strong enough or you were not a good trainer.'_**

I looked into Sceptile's eyes and saw the honesty in his eyes. His loyalty and love... I was speechless.

 ** _'You are a good trainer Ash-oniichan!'_** Jolteon called out. ' ** _Gary-oniichan is always saying that!'_** All my veteran pokemon and I looked at her in shock. **_'He said that you were an idiot when you started your journey,'_** that sounds more like him. **_'But you improved, and you did so fast. Your creativity and relentlessness are what makes you a great trainer.'_**

 ** _'So, please, stop thinking less of yourself and go back to being the happy Ash we all know and love.'_** Pikachu begged me.

"As if I can refuse a request from my beloved pokemon," I replied, laughing as I was attacked with hugs- luckily, they were careful with my arm. "You understand now, right? I do not blame you and you should not blame yourself... I'll try to do the same." I whispered.

 ** _'We do,'_** they replied.

"Good." I moved away a little bit, so I could face all of them at the same time. "You realize I'll have to send you guys back, right?" They looked at me with saddened eyes but nodded nonetheless. "Meganium don't even think of training, got it? You are pregnant and all you should be focusing on is bringing that baby into the world safely. I'll be telling Professor Oak, so he'll help you." She sighed, but her smile brightened at my words. "Feraligatr, you need to take it easy. Not only your ribs cracked, even if they are healed now, you just evolved and will need to get used to your new body and the rise of power. Your new height on its own will be a difficult challenge."

 ** _'Don't worry!'_** He simply replied, with his usual easygoing smile. Which now looked quite terrifying, for those who don't know him, with all the big and sharp teeth.

"The rest of you rest. We've been through a lot and deserve a break." I continued. "Also, Pidgeot I won't be bringing back Vibrava or Starly. Can you take them under your wing and teach them some flying tricks and moves? I know you already have your hands (wings?) full with Altaria and Skarmory..."

 ** _'Don't worry, I'll do my best.'_** Pidgeot replied, much calmer this time. It as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders (Does a Pidgeot have shoulders?).

"Good... I'll miss you guys," I said, smiling sadly. "Remember that I am so proud of you."

I have rapidly hugged again, this time my arm was not so lucky, but I paid it no mind. I relished in the warmth and affection of my pokemon. Sooner than I would have liked, I had to recall them all, except for Jolteon, Honegde, and Pikachu, and head towards the transfer system at the Center's entrance.

"Ash!" Surprisingly it was not Professor Oak the one who answered, but my mom. "Why did you not call me sooner?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?! I had to find out about it from the news?!"

"Mom," I snapped, my voice barely containing the anger and frustration I felt. I love my mom and know she worries a lot; her strong personality is something I admired a lot of her... but right now it was simply making it worse.

"My boy, what happened?" Professor Oak finally appeared on the screen, besides my mother. They both wore similar expressions of surprise and worry. Surprise by me snapping and worry at the news they've heard.

"Sorry for snapping mom," I apologized. "But I've been through a lot today and had other priorities to handle first." I felt bad when her expression turned from worried to hurt. "No one should have known about the mission; you shouldn't have found out at all. But the news got hold of it and now everyone knows..." I sighed. "The mission was a success. My pokemon are fine, Croconaw even evolved," that brought out a smile.

"I'm glad" mom murmured "Are you truly ok Ash?" She asked, this time much calmer.

"I am," I answered, honestly. "I can't tell you more, it's confidential."

"I am starting to regret encouraging you to join the Ranger Force." Professor Oak sighed, his face twisting with guilt.

"Don't," I cut him off. "I've never felt more fulfilled in my life Professor," I confessed. "Before even if we stopped the bad guys, they always escaped and cause more trouble in another place. That brought me more sleepless nights than I would like to admit. Now not only I am capable of arresting them myself, but I also have other trainers to help me out and have my back. Your advice was one of the best ones I've ever received."

"I'm glad," he replied, this time looking relieved before turning serious. "But there's something else, right?"

"There is good and bad news, which one would you like first?" They gave me a deadpanned look and I laughed sheepishly. "All right, the good news is that Meganium is pregnant." They both exclaimed in surprise. "I know right." I laughed. "So, keep a good eye on her Professor."

"Two different regional starters having a baby... at my ranch... this is incredible!" He exclaimed. "What species will it be? What ability and egg moves will they inherited from their parents?"

His eyes shone as they always did when he is immersed in his studies. Knowing that he might as well end up murmuring to himself for another hour at least, I decided to cut in: "Bad news, Charizard needed surgery."

That did bring down the mood like nothing else.

"Oh, my," mom gasped, her eyes watering. "What happened? Is he ok now?"

"He was consumed by Blaze and the other pokemon used that distraction against him, to land some hits on him." I sighed. "He is fine now. Luckily, the loss of blood was the worst of it. But he'll need to forgo fighting for a month. Knowing Charizard there's no way he'll do it, so I'll keep him with me for the time being to keep an eye on him."

"Smart decision," Professor Oak praised me, his eyes however were sad and serious. "Is there anything we can do?"

"Yes, there is," I answered. "Mom, can you send me Poke Food recipes for injured pokemon and build back their strength? Professor Oak, you have Charizard of your own, can you give me some advice on how to tend to his injuries? And tips about how to train him when he is given a clean slate of health?"

"Of course!" Mom exclaimed, "I'll get right on it!"

"Of course, my boy." Professor Oak was calmer. "Anything else?"

"Yes," I sighed. "I'll be sending you back Espeon, Feraligatr, Pidgeot, Primeape, Sceptile, and Meganium," I told him sending the Poke Balls through the transfer system. Once I saw them being delivered safely, I continued. "Let them all mingle, for the time being, I'll call you later for Froakie, Bulbasaur, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Quilava."

"Now that I think about it Quilava will be the only Johto starter that hasn't evolved to her final form," Professor Oak thought out loud.

"I know, that's why I want her with me. To help her not feel depress and keep an eye on her training, so she won't work herself to the bone," I replied. "Bye Professor, bye mom."

"Bye Ashy," mom answered. "Be careful, please."

"Hear your mother, boy." Professor added, "I've already had enough white hairs as it is."

Once the call ended, I turned to Pikachu and we both sighed: "We'll need to call Misty, Brock, Gary, May, and Max, won't we?"

"Pika" he nodded his head.

"It will be a long day" I sighed and prepared myself to face a barricade of worried friends.

 _At least, the mission was a success._ I tried to comfort myself but failed magnifically.


	17. II Bulbasaur's P.O.V

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delayed post. Happy holidays and I hope you enjoy it!

The ranch, or at least, Ash's pokemon claimed territory has been quite restless since yesterday. When Professor Oak suddenly called out Primeape, Pidgeot, Sceptile, Meganium, Croconaw, and Espeon. No one knew why Ash would call out for some of the best fighters he had only been one week into his journey through Sinnoh... but everyone knew it was for nothing good. Especially since the pokemon that were sent back to the ranch told us our trainer was supposed to attend a meeting at a Ranger Headquarters. We even tried to have the psychic pokemon try and ask Professor Oak for information but got nothing in return. Only finding out that Charizard was called as well.  
It had us on edge. Sylveon and Glaceon were especially worried about Espeon. I had my hands full trying to get everyone to calm down and keep order. Even when I myself kept wondering what had happened to make Ash call for Charizard of all pokemon. But Ash had left me in charge, had trusted me to keep everyone safe in his steed and I would not fail him.

I tried to steer the topic of conversation to getting to know the new members of our family. But I realized nothing could be done when the psychics had found out that _Hunter J_ has been captured by Ash Ketchum. The news kept on repeating the same story: A fight broke on the borders of Jubilife City, a team of Rangers led by Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum had been sent out to deal and capture Hunter J. Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum had been successful and Champion Cynthia and Elite Four Lucian had already procured that the infamous criminal was put behind bars. That would have normally been something to celebrate, but the story was followed by the report of a fire breaking out during the mission and various Rangers had been hurt. So, when no call came from Ash hell broke loose.

Not even I had it in me to keep the guys in check, too worried about my family. The worst is that neither Professor Oak nor Ash’s mom could get ahold of Ash. So, we spent the whole day and following morning worried sick, I don’t believe anyone slept a wink.

I don’t think I can explain the relief we felt when Professor Oak came out of his lab with various Poke Balls in his hands. It never is this bad whenever Ash gets involved in Ranger work… maybe because we’ve never known beforehand what he has gotten involved with. So, we’ve never had to wonder if they are safe and sound, we’ve always found out _after_ the events held place. Waiting is horrible… and _I_ am the one saying that.

I avidly waited as Professor Oak threw the Poke Balls into the air, releasing my family. They all looked the same as they’ve had when they left. The only change was that Croconaw was now Feraligatr. However, instead of celebrating that I was more focused on the fact that they were all uncharacteristically quiet. That _never_ happens.

“So, Ash tells me to inform you that Meganium will not be participating in _any_ kind of training and to take good care of her. She’s expecting. The same goes for Feraligatr, no training until he gets used to his new body and power. Froakie, Bulbasaur, Turtwig, Chimchar, and Quilava will be joining Ash for the continuation of his journey, but he told me to send you to him later.” Professor Oak informed us. “Until then mingle and… learn what happened.”

With that said he turned around and left. It was as if a spell broke and everyone rushed forward. Sylveon and Glaceon jumped Espeon, Quilava went to Meganium, Sceptile, and Feraligatr, Heracross, and Hitmontop went to Primeape, I decided to approach Pidgeot, who was surrounded by almost every flying type in Ash’s team.

“ ** _What happened there?_** ” I asked, my words brought silence all around me.

The usual composed and dignified Pidgeot, the one I counted to keep her cool and inform us about the mission in a professional way, suddenly broke into tears. Sobs shaking her whole body, sending shivers down my bulb.

 _What could have happened to make Pidgeot react like that?_ I wondered in my head, afraid of the answer. Especially, when everyone in the team that had returned looked away in shame.

Only Feraligatr looked composed and I was not expecting him to be the one to answer: “ ** _We were all surprised when Professor Oak suddenly called us yesterday._** ” He began. “ ** _When Ash let us out of our Poke Balls, we were surprised to find him wearing his Ranger’s outfit and Pikachu wearing a very serious expression on his face. It seems that Jessie, James, and Meowth had contacted him with news of Hunter J coming to Jubilife City to hunt a pack of Luxray._** ” He growled, getting many growls from other members of our family.

If there’s anything we all agree on is how much we love Ash and his mom, that we would do anything for them, and that Hunter J had to be brought to justice for all her horrendous crimes. I thank the ex-Team Rocket for their information, as a Luxray pack had been saved and she was put behind bars much earlier than we would have anticipated.

Oh, how much things had changed the last couple of months. Not only in our family but also in those who had accompanied our trainer during his journey. Brock had decided to stop traveling and got back to school, so he could study to become a pokemon doctor. Misty had finally succeeded as the official and only Gym Leader of Cerulean City. May is going on a journey through Johto on her own and Max is studying under his dad, and from what I’ve heard he is getting special permission to be a trainer early as long as he has a master to keep an eye on his. His dad will fulfill that role. I believe he did so, to be able to catch the various friends, that he met during his journey with Ash, early.

The Team Rocket… well, ex-Team Rocket, have also decided to turn over a new leaf. They had come to the Ranch after finding out of all the new pokemon Ash had in possession to steal them, like always. Only this time Ash proceeded to stop them more maturely, he captured them and then convinced them to stop being part of the Rockets. James had only decided to be a criminal to escape his family and the arranged marriage they’ve made for him. Jessie is a coordinator, a performer, not a criminal. So, he told them to get married and go live their dreams. James is rich and he’ll be able to maintain Jessie and help her go and fulfill her dream, no need for an arranged marriage when there’s love and they will no longer need to live in a poor living situation. James could work for his parents, dealing with clients as he travels with Jessie and Meowth, and checking on the different branches of his family’s enterprise. Meowth could even start a pokemon translation business. As for them being criminals… well, more than criminals they were a bother. Not once had they stole a pokemon successfully and they’ve even helped save the world a couple of times. A few calls later, Ash had them off the hook, as long as they no longer tried to steal another pokemon.

So, one wedding later they were a rich couple with plans to conquer the business and contest society of Sinnoh. But they hadn’t forgotten about Ash and his help, so when my trainer contacted them to see if any of their contacts from their Rocket time had any clue about Hunter J’s whereabouts, they promised to keep an eye on the issue… and they’ve fulfilled their promise.

“ ** _Ash had even summoned Charizard and has been given authority over the mission to capture her._** ” Feraligatr continued. “ ** _It was a serious matter. He divided us into teams, we were his captains, and in charge of the pokemon in each team. Meganium was in charge of the Healing Team. Jolteon was part of the Rescue Team under the charge of another Ranger, she’s fine._** ” He rapidly added, seeing our worried expressions. “ ** _Ash clearly didn’t want her joining the mission, but she’s fast and small, perfect to get the word around about the danger coming and dodge the trees falling. He also needed eyes and ears in that team to know how things were proceeding there._** ” I didn’t like it, no one did, but we also understood. It wasn’t like Jolteon wasn’t prepared. “ ** _Honedge was in charge of the Ghost Team, whose mission was to steal the grunt’s Poke Balls. Sceptile and Primeape were in the first line of attack inside the airship under the command of another Ranger. Charizard had to take care of the Salamence. Pidgeot was in charge of the aerial attack and… take Ash in and out of the airship._** ” I winced when Pidgeot’s cries became louder. _Just what had happened out there?!_ I screamed in my head. “ ** _I was in charge of the Water Team, we had to take care of the fires that occurred as a consequence of the confrontation with Hunter J’s group. Espeon stayed with Ash with Pikachu, they were the ones who confronted Hunter J and she had the order to keep us all connected via a telepathic link._** ”

“ ** _That’s good and all…_** ” I began. “ ** _But that still doesn’t explain why Pidgeot is crying her heart out or why you all look as if someone had died!_** ” I finally snapped and raised my voice, getting various surprised looks. But I did not care, I had finally reached my limit. “ ** _Get to the point and tell us what the hell happened!_** ”

“ ** _We-we-well…_** ” He stuttered. “ ** _Everything was going according to the plan until Ash went to confront Hunter J._** ” He finally answered, getting to the point. A feeling of foreboding came over me. “ ** _She tried to escape by blowing a hole on her ship and using a parachute, but Ash stopped her, and Espeon got apprehended her… however, Ash did fall from the airship._** ”

Just like that, I felt my heart stop for a second. Breathing became hard and I could feel the cold seep in me. Many pokemon jumped up and shouted ‘WHAT?!’, shocked about the news. Maybe that’s why Ash did not contact anyone, until today. The only thing that kept me from breaking down was the fact that Professor Oak had told us Ash has been the one to call for us and that if anything serious had happened to our trainer none of them would have allowed being taken from his side.

“ ** _I was supposed to keep him safe!”_** Pidgeot finally spoke between sobs. “ ** _He had left his security to me… and I failed him!_** ”

“ ** _Don’t speak like that._** ” Espeon sighed. “ ** _Master does not like it when you do and he already has enough to worry about, to add your guilt to the mix._** ” She scolded Pidgeot. “ ** _Master has already told you that he has forgiven you, that there was nothing to forgive. Even the lizard wasn’t able to get to him in time! If anything, the mouse, the sword, and I should be the ones feeling guilty, we were the ones that could not stop him from falling…_** ”

“ ** _Enough._** ” Meganium finally spoke, with a severity I’ve never heard in her voice. “ ** _No more talking like that. We all feel guilty, if Feraligatr hadn’t evolved and caught Ash before he touched the ground… we all would be without a trainer today._** ” Her words sent shivers down everyone’s spine. They made me realize how close we’ve been to lose Ash… to lose our family. “ ** _Charizard went berserker when the Mega Evolution snapped, not being able to be maintained after Ash lost concentration. He let Blaze take control over him and almost killed the Salamence… however, Blaze also meant he wasn’t completely in control and Salamence took advantage of it and sliced his open. Charizard is ok now, surgery was successful and the worst he got was blood loss and stitches._** ” I sighed in relief. I had almost lost two of my oldest friends yesterday. Three if we counted Pikachu, he would have never forgiven himself for Ash’s death… none of us would. But it would have hit him harder. “ ** _But as we all know Charizard would never stay in bed rest and would easily end up opening his stitches the moment he was left alone. So, Ash decided to keep him with him until he regains his strength._** ”

“ ** _Yeah, that sounds like Charizard to me._** ” I chuckled. “ ** _What happens now?_** ”

“ ** _I think there’ll be a press conference tomorrow,_** ” Espeon answered, cuddling her mate. “ ** _People want answers… even though it was supposed to be kept a secret. Hunting down Team Galactic will be much harder for Master now._** ” She sighed. “ ** _Master is traveling with a coordinator and she has a contest in Jubilife City the day after the press conference. After that, I believe he’ll continue his journey_**.”

“ ** _A coordinator?_** ” I asked surprised, more relaxed now that I know everyone is safe... relatively speaking at least. “ ** _Anyone, we know?_** ”

“ ** _No,_** ” Feraligatr replied. “ ** _She is a new trainer, just started his journey. But Aipom tells me she is a good person._** ”

“ ** _Aipom?_** ” I inquired; I knew Ash had planned to find a new trainer for Aipom, but I’m surprised he would find one so fast.

“ ** _Yes, Dawn is Aipom’s new trainer,_** ” Meganium answered. “ ** _She is a good girl and a good coordinator, for a beginner. Aipom will have a good time with her and this way we’ll be able to keep in contact with her and travel with her for another year._** ”

“ ** _That’s good.”_** I sighed, relieved.

We spent the rest of the afternoon talking with each other, getting to know more details of the mission. We found out that neither Professor Oak nor Delia knew about Ash falling from the airship, so we decided to keep quiet about that around them and any psychic pokemon that wasn’t part of Ash’s group. I also decided to talk with Pidgeot, not only to make her feel better but because I also needed someone to keep an eye on the group until I returned. Meganium was pregnant and Sceptile would be too focused on his mate to do the job properly. I needed her at her top game, especially after all that happened. The team will be much rowdier than usual. It would also be good for Pidgeot, she’ll have something else to focus on. Just in case, I also left Espeon and Sylveon to keep an eye on her.

When evening came, Professor Oak finally came to take us to Ash. Even if I trusted my team and knew that Ash was fine, the moment I was released from the Poke Ball I jumped on him. Everyone else had the same idea. Luckily, we were all small and did not worsen the condition of his shoulder. I heard chuckling before coughing and turned around to find Charizard laying on a bed, his whole torso covered with bandages and his arm connected to an IV.

“ ** _You are an idiot,_** ” I told him, once we settled down. Ash figured out that there was no way we’ll let him go, so he stayed on the floor and allowed himself to be Lillipup pilled.

“ ** _As if you wouldn’t have reacted the same way in my position_**.” He growled/groaned back.

“ ** _If I had been in your position, I wouldn’t have extended the fight during a mission for my entertainment._**” I scolded him, I softened when I saw him wince in guilt. “ ** _But I can see you understand your mistake._** ”

“ ** _Believe me, I do._** ” He replied with a grim frown.

“ ** _Good,_** ” I said, satisfied. “ ** _At least, tell me you no longer blame yourself about the Charizard Valley issue. Because if you had that and this, you’ll be insufferable with all the moping._** ”

“ ** _Relax._** ” He scoffed. “ ** _With the mouse and Ash talking to me back in the Ranch before I left for the Valley, I was able to let go of the guilt…_** ”

“ ** _But it won’t be the same with this._** ” I continued for him.

“ ** _No, not with Ash almost dying because I wanted to have some fun,_** ” I growled.

I sighed but kept quiet. Right now, was not the moment to talk with him, not when he is like this. It is also something only Ash will be able to get him to understand and forgive himself. Somethings can only be done by a trainer. So, I kept quiet and cuddled my trainer, happy and relieved that he was alive, lulled into sleep by his healthy and strong heartbeat.

My trainer was alive and there was no greater joy than that. Any pokemon can assure you that.


	18. V Ash's P.O.V

"Goodness, Ash!" Misty berated me. "You really know how to make a scene; everyone is going mad trying to figure out what happened in Jubilife City."

"No joke," May added. "All the news channels seem to be talking about Hunter J's capture and the mysterious Ace Ranger Ash Ketchum that came out of nowhere."

"You even made the news in Hoenn," commented Max.

Right now, I was in a conference call with Misty, May, Max, Brock and Gary, while waiting for Champion Cynthia, Elite Four Lucian, and the Head Ranger of Jubilife City to get to the Pokemon Center. So, we could all discuss the best course of action to take during the Press Conference later today.

"Do they really expect a mere contest to be enough of a distraction from the fact that _Hunter J_ had finally been captured?" Gary scoffed.

Not that I could deny his words. From what Josh and Sarah had told me, the League and the Ranger Commission had arranged the Press Conference to be one day earlier to the Jubilife Contest to take people's mind off the issue.

While it might, and I stress the word might have worked in Sinnoh. The news has reached all the Regions in this continent, even reaching some places in Kalos- from what Gary had told me.

It had become too much for a single contest to cover up.

"That was the plan," I sighed. Ignoring Charizard's snigger. "But I believe that now they understand it won't be so simple."

"How did they even get ahold of the story?" Brock asked, suspiciously. "It wasn't as if you had had the time to plan the attack and, in return, for the information to leak. It was all a last-minute operation."

"No one knows," I answered. "They told me to leave it to them and to focus on recovering. Honestly, I don't care at the moment. I'm too tired to try and hunt them down." I sighed. "I'll let them do it for me."

They all looked at me concerned, even Gary!

"Good thinking, Ashy-boy. Taking off the arm sling when talking to Gramps and your mom." He said, changing the topic of conversation for me. "They would have lost their minds if they had found out that you fell from an airship and dislocated your shoulder."

"I had to," I defended myself. "Otherwise, they would have hounded me down."

"The same way the news crew is doing?" May asked, with a teasing smile.

"Don't remind me," I moaned. This time I did glare at the sniggering pokemon on Charizard's infirmary bed. I only stopped when I heard a knock coming from the door, Pikachu rapidly came to my side. "Yes, come in!" I called out.

"Ace Ranger Ketchum," Nurse Joy said sweetly, as he opened the door. "Champion Cynthia, Elite Four Lucian, and Head Ranger Violet have arrived. They are waiting for you in the business room."

 _Yes, Pokemon Centers have business rooms. Who would have thought? Not me!_ I exclaimed in my head.

"Thank you, Nurse Joy," I replied. "I'm coming." With that she exited the room, waiting for me outside when I turned back to my friends on the screen. "It seems like I have to go."

"Try not to get involved in any more trouble," Misty scolded me.

"This is Ashy-boy we are talking about, he is _the_ trouble magnet," commented Gary.

"I'm glad you all came out mostly unharmed," Brock told me.

"Bye Ash, I'll consider your offer," Max said.

"If anything happens, call us. Ok? We'll be there to help." May assured me.

"I will," I replied. "Bye, guys!"

"Bye, Ash!" They answered, and then the screen went black.

"Quilava keeps an eye on Charizard," I told her, before returning the rest of the pokemon, only leaving Jolteon, Honedge, and Pikachu out. "The rest, follow me."

As we exited the room and walked towards the business room, I started to see what the rest of my journey will be like. Every staff member's eyes were on me. Even Nurse joy seemed to be turning to look back at me from time to time. I hated it, and I was suddenly angry at the person who leaked the information about the mission. But I also knew that there was nothing I could do. If anything, this served as good training in case I win the Sinnoh Conference or if I became a Frontier Brain. I might not like this kind of attention, but those positions are quite media catching.

"Ace Ranger Ash," Champion Cynthia greeted me with a smile as soon as I entered the room. All three very powerful people sat surrounding the small circular table, there was only one empty chair between Elite Four Lucian and Head Ranger Violet. They all had stood up when I entered the room. "It's wonderful to finally meet you. After all the stories from Lance and Steven, I've always wanted to mee you."

Another thing I had to get used to. _Champions_ wanted to meet me on daily basis. I even received worried calls from the male champions and the Kanto Elite Four.

"It's an honor, Champion Cynthia. _Please_ call me Ash," I silently begged her.

"Then call me, Cynthia." She laughed, making me relax a little bit.

"Thank you for your service," Head Ranger Violet said offering me a smile. "Call me, Violet."

"I'm Lucian and it's nice to meet the hero that finally captured Hunter J." The Elite Four member presented himself.

"A pleasure to meet all of you," I told them, shaking their hands with my unhurt arm. "So... how will this work?" I finally asked once we all took a seat.

This was my first Press Conference, and I had no idea how to deal with all of this.

"Well, we will first decide what should not be mentioned," Lucian answered me warmly.

I was stunned for a second, I was not expecting that much warmth from a psychic specialist. Thankfully, my shock prevented me from blushing.

 _He was just so hot! Dammit! I hate hormones._ I complained in my head.

"The anonymous tip shall stay anonymous," Violet stated. I sent her a grateful look, which she returned with a kind smile. "It's the least we owe them for their service to the Sinnoh League. Not to mention it's for their protection."

"We shall tell the press that the information on Hunter J's whereabouts was collected by one of the various intelligence teams we had gathered for her capture." Cynthia continued. "Another thing we should keep quiet about is Ash and Charizard's injuries." I looked at her confused. "No one but us, Nurse Joy, Ranger Sarah, Ranger Josh, and your friends know about Charizard's condition. While not serious, if the story about Ace Ranger Ash's Charizard defeating Hunter j's _Salamence_ without any injury circles around- if only by the lie of omission- the public's morale will increase."

"It would also stop Team Galactic from doing something," added a serious Lucian. "Your Ranger's file might be sealed, but word about a young boy who has exterminated Team Aqua and Team Magma, and has stopped Team Rocket countless times, is starting to go around. If news about your fall and Charizard's injuries go around, no matter how small, they'll take the chance to attack."

"Not to mention how hard things have gotten now that Team Galactic knows you are in Sinnoh and are officially part of the Rangers." Violet sighed. "They'll easily deduce we've sent you to hunt them down."

"No kidding," I commented. "The intel Josh gave me a week ago is now useless." I sighed. "I won't be able to use it or make a move with so many eyes on me." I shook my head. "It doesn't matter, now. I'll just take off the arm sling for the interview and stray clear of anything Charizard related. I'll just sing him praises and show how proud I am of all my pokemon, that should be the easiest thing I'll have to do... I should also stray clear of anything Feraligatr related. I don't think I'll be able to pull off a lie if they ask me how he evolved during the mission."

"Good idea," chuckled Cynthia. "If you can, have your Pikachu mount your unhurt shoulder and as soon as we get to the Conference Table, jump off. Otherwise, people will question why he isn't on his usual spot."

"Got it," I replied.

"Other than that, we'll just retell what happened," continued Lucian. "With the Ranger Commission receiving the intel and you gathering the forces for her capture. Then with us, putting her away. If reporters ask why you didn't do it yourself, we'll just say that it was us performing our Elite Four and Champion duties... try not to mention Hunter J blowing a whole on her airship. That will arise too many questions you are not prepared to handle." I nodded my head, trying to memorize everything. "If they ask about how _you_ were able to capture her when others failed..."

"I'll just say that I had the element of surprise on my side and she underestimated my team and me." I cut him off- knowing that saying: 'no one was crazy enough to dare the possibility of falling to their deaths', was not the right answer.

"Right," Lucian sighed.

"Other than that, they'll ask about your personal life." Cynthia cheerfully cut in, when the mood started to turn gloomy. "When that happens, we'll cut in and steer the conversation back to the topic in issue."

"That will be all," Violet assured me.

In theory, it was all easy, but I knew that practice will be a whole different issue.

"About the League using the Jubilife Contest as a distraction..." I began but stopped when Lucian sighed.

"That was the plan, but the hype is already out there. News reached _Kalos_ of all places. This is what happens when you capture a worldwide criminal." He answered.

"I thought so," I sighed.

"Pi-Pikachu," Pikachu comforted me- I scratched his cheek in return.

"If things get out of hands, you'll have the League to help you," Cynthia assured me with the authority of a champion.

I blinked startled at the sudden change of behavior.

"Of course, the Rangers will have your back too," Violet added. "We take care of our own."

I smiled at that, feeling much calmer now. She was right, I was one of them now. I was a Ranger; I was no longer saving the world on my own. I have helped at this time. I hadn't known how much I had needed that until now.

I was glad to have found out.


	19. I Lance's P.O.V

“How’s Ash doing?” Koga asked me, concerned.

The previous Elite Four and its new members were meeting at the Indigo Plateau to discuss how to proceed with the new formation of the League. Agatha was finally retiring and having Karen replace her as the new leader of the Elite Four. Will was taking Lorelai’s place, as she desires to return to her homeland.

Not only to be able to focus more on her research but also because after the Shamouti incident, she has been worried about her islands. My cousin Drake was no longer enough to protect the Archipelago. Even after Ash flushed out the Team Rocket from there and became the Hero of Shamouti. So, she decided to return there and help Drake build an official Regional League.

Koga, on his part, was leaving the Fuchsia Gym to his daughter, Janine, and becoming the last member of the Elite Four. Right below Bruno, whose position had not changed from the former order. I, myself, now that the Elite four was finally complete, I can focus completely on my champion duties and my G-men.

Or, at least, that was the plan until Arceus damn Hunter J had decided to throw Ash off her airship.

I groaned and answered: “He is fine. His dislocated shoulder healed already,” I sighed. “Fortunately.”

“Honestly, the Sinnoh League should have dealt with her a long time ago.” Lorelai huffed. I knew she cared and appreciated Ash a lot, especially after he did for her Islands. “They shouldn’t have left Ash to clean up their mess.”

“If you see it that way, then _we_ have committed the same sin,” Bruno commented grimily, making everyone grimace. “What’s worse, even when Team Rocket’s leader’s identity revealed we had yet been able to deal with them. At least, not the same way Hoenn had flushed out their crime syndicates over a year ago.”

 _That_ was something I did not want to be reminded of, less touch at the moment. One of our 13 pillars the leader of Team Rocket! It brought so much shame to our League. Not to mention, we have yet to find someone to fill out the vacancy in Viridian. I was thinking of having Ash fill it, but he has already surpassed the Gym Leader position. Maybe Professor Oak’s grandson would like the position. He might be into research now, but his love for battling is still there and he is a strong trainer.

“At least, this brand-new publicity is working for you.” Karen barked, smirking at a glaring Lorelai.

Not that she could deny her words. Ever since the Press Conference with Ash, Cynthia, Lucian, and Head Ranger Violet, all everyone is talking about is Ash. While many, if not everyone, in high positions, be it in the Police Force, Ranger Commission, or Regional Leagues, already knew about him, to the public he was still relatively unknown. But after this mysterious Ace Ranger appeared out of nowhere and captured Hunter J, everyone wanted to know about him.

Ash’s Trainer History was laid bare for everyone to see. From his number of badges to his League Championship positions and Tournament wins. They even got ahold of that silly rumor about him using the League Conferences as a training ground for his new pokemon, and he was suddenly acclaimed as a genius trainer. Which he was! But not for those reasons!

The worst is that I know how much that rumor has been bothering Ash.

Luckily, his Ranger History was well guarded, the last thing Ash needed was ex-Magmas, ex-Aquas, and Team Rocket coming after his mother as a revenge plot. Unfortunately, many people seeing the news have come out to tell everyone about the time Ash has helped them. They even put out a T.V show called: The Time Ash Ketchum Helped Me Out.

The worst is that we cannot stop them as they all had some kind of proof, they hadn’t invented the story. From a pokemon stylist to a pokemon photographer. Even Officers Jenny and Nurses Joy all over the regions were telling the news crews about their encounter with Ash. Even issues like Shamouti and Alto Mare were coming out to light.

People have even started to call him: Ash The Saint! Yes, with capital letters!

Everything became worse when the Royalty of Rota and the Mirage kingdom came out to talk. Hell broke loose. He wasn’t just an Ace Ranger but a _knight_ of _two_ kingdoms. Not even _I_ knew that. From my call to Ash, not even _he_ had known about that.

Luckily, Ash had disappeared into the forest, hiding successfully from the media hounding him. But once he reaches Oreburgh City… it will be difficult for him to escape them.

It was not only him that was being hounded, his mother and Professor Oak are being bothered for an interview almost daily. Things got to a point that Delia had to move in with Professor Oak for protection. Even Ash’s previous traveling partners and rivals were being interviewed.

The only ones who could be able to see a good side to this whole mess were Lorelai and my cousin Drake. Who while trying to form the Orange League they had decided that Ash would make a great Champion. Especially, since everyone at the Archipelago had known about him, since before his popularity had skyrocketed, and loved him as their hero. So, him being known all over the regions would be good publicity for them… if Ash does accept the position of course.

“It doesn’t matter, anyway.” I cut in before this could break into a fight. “They promised not to contact Ash until _after_ the Sinnoh League is over.”

I don’t really know what had happened, but Ash was not the same one he had once been. He was constantly second-guessing himself and losing confidence in his abilities. His psyche was delicate at the moment, Head Ranger Charles, Scott, and I had already overwhelmed him, no need to add Lorelai and Drake to the mix yet. 

This journey through Sinnoh would be what will make him or break him.

I sure hope is the former. The Pokemon World, as it is, cannot afford to lose him.

Ash Ketchum was needed. Especially, when so many changed were coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are enjoying the story thus far, but what I want to tell you is: It's time for a voting contest!  
> What do you think Ash's future work choice would suit him the most?  
> a) Ash accepts Scott's offer as the new Frontier Brain Leader. His building is based on Viridian with Gary working alongside him as the City's Gym Leader. Close to home and with the ability to travel to new regions whenever he wants to.  
> b) Ash keeps on raising his rank in the Ranger forces. He still gets to travel but will have more responsibilities.   
> c) Ash decides to become the newly made Orange League's Champion, with Drake and Lorelai as part of his Elite Four. He will get to travel but will have to return to the Archipelago various times to see if the changes he has made in the region were being followed. Like deciding their own Regional Starters, opening more Gyms over the region so that there would be eight, and creating a Lapras transportation system with the help of Lorelai so that trainers could go from island to island. If you choose this option, Gary might end up deciding to join Ash in the Archipelago and open his own Gym there.  
> Please when you decide on one option, tell me why you chose it.  
> Thank you!


	20. II Charizard's P.O.V

**_"So, you are the famous Charizard."_** The Pupitar commented when he had finally been released by Pikachu and Ash. He was closely being followed by Jolteon, who adored the idea of having an older brother- even if he is of another species.

We've been on the road for around two weeks. Ash seems to be enjoying being able to hide from all the cameras, unlike his friends, as we've seen through BuzzNav. Still, it wasn't like nothing had happened to us while on the route, if anything we've had various adventures since we entered the forest. Then again, that's what normally happens when you are traveling with Ash. We've met and helped a Pokemornithologist, helped a Nuzleaf return to his herd and Starly had evolved into Staravia while in the Ranch after he perfectionated Aerial Ace. Not to mention that Ash finally got rid of the arm sling and I was finally deemed healed enough to start doing some light training, though I still needed to wait until we reach Oreburgh City for Nurse Joy to take my stitches and return to the Charizard Valley.

Talking about interesting things, it seems that the Larvitar Ash and Pikachu had helped all those years back had finally decided to join their group after finally evolving in the wild. He had it easy, all he had to do is approach the Ranger Headquarters on Mt. Silver and point to the news channel on the T.V. Everyone knows how Ash had gained his status as Honorary Ranger before joining the forces officially, so they rapidly understood that the Pupitar was the famous Larvitar of the story and sent someone to give Ash the newly caught pokemon.

It took them about a week to find them. Honestly, couldn't they just give Ash a fucking call?! But in the end, they finally found him and gave them Pupitar's Poke Ball. Let's just say that both Ash and Pikachu were ecstatic that the first pokemon they helped hatched had returned to their family. Now, it's good that they are happy and all that, but no one but them has been able to get close to the new member of our family or even greet Pupitar! Until now...

" ** _You've heard about me?_** " I grunted, letting out some smoke.

" ** _Yep,_** " he replied. " ** _Dad and Uncle Ash could not stop telling me stories about you, Butterfree, Uncle Primeape, Aunt Pidgeot, and Lapras. They missed all of you, but it seems that now the only ones that didn't return were Butterfree and Lapras. If only for a lack of methods to communicate with them._** "

 _Arceus help me! He had picked up Jolteon's nicknames!_ I moaned in my head.

" ** _We missed them too,_** " I replied. " ** _But back then we had to take different paths. There will be times that one has to take a different path to fulfill their dream but that doesn't mean we stopped being family or that we will never see each other again... it just means that life had other plans for us at that moment and that one day it will be time to reunite._** " They all looked at me with stunned expressions. " _ **What?!**_ " I growled.

" ** _Sorry, it's just... that sounds something Ash would say to us when... we are being unreasonable..._** " Turtwig said.

" ** _You mean when we are being scolded._** " Bulbasaur, the traitor, sniggered. " ** _Those were the same words Ash told Charizard after the training camp before he had returned to the Charizard Valley._** "

" ** _Oh, thank Arceus!_** " Turtwig sighed. " ** _For a moment I thought someone had replaced Charizard with an impostor,_** " everyone laughed at that.

" ** _Shut it!_** " I growled, keeping my blush at check- no need to give them any other reason to laugh at me.

" ** _I know,_** " Pupitar's admission had us all freezing. " _ **Back then there was nothing more that I wanted than to stay with Dad and Uncle Ash. But I didn't want to leave mother either, not to mention I had to lot to learn from her... from living in the wild.**_ " He turned to look at Pikachu and Ash, who were helping Dawn train her pokemon. " _ **However, here we are. Reunited once more after so many moons have passed. It is all about timing and patience.**_ "

" ** _Surprisingly enough, Ash possesses both._** " Bulbasaur chuckled, sounding the fondest I've ever heard him. " ** _How much would you like to bet that by the end of this journey both Butterfree and Lapras would be reunited with the family._** "

Someone, Honedge I believe, ended up scolding Bulbasaur for being improper and betting in front of children. Then the conversation turned into the evils of betting, mostly for the kids' wellbeing. But I didn't pay attention to any of that. My focus had changed to Quilava a long time ago. She was away from everyone else, but still visible, training hard on her fire attacks- which kept on leaving her winded.

Oh, how I had hated her at one time. She had been my replacement, the one who was able to keep Ash when I was 'abandoned' at the Charizard Valley. Yes, now I understand that I was never abandoned but that Ash had left me there for me to be happy with my mate and that I will always be his pokemon, as he had proven by calling me on various occasions. But that did not change the fact that as soon as he had left me there, he had saved another Fire Type Starter who was shy and had problems with his fire attacks... just like I had when I was still _that_ bustard's Charmander.

One that didn't even evolve during her journey with Ash!

It made me boil with rage. Why does that weak Fire Type get to stay close to Ash as his replacement, when he wasn't able to! When he was so much more powerful than her!

I know that things are different now. That she was never my replacement and that Ash loves all his pokemon equally. That I was special to him, his strongest pokemon alongside Sceptile and Pikachu... even Altaria, she keeps one surprised us all. She'll be in our ranks soon enough.

Knowing that had allowed me to be able to help her during the training camp, without favoring the other Fire Types. I was able to help her perfect Flamethrower, Fire Wheel, and Eruption, and even teach her the bases of Fire Blast. However, she still has problems gathering enough firepower for that last attack. Which is what Ash had me helping her with while I was recuperating. That and help Chimchar with his own Fire Type attacks.

However, even with my help, she was still having issues. She just wasn't able to reach her internal fire. That flame that burns inside every Fire Type. I don't know if it is because of her shyness or because she felt like she was being left behind, but she had to snap out of it. In a couple of days, I was leaving for the Charizard Valley and she'll be left to practice on her own.

Growling I stood up, ignoring everyone's questioning looks, and walked towards Quilava to then pick her up and drag her away to get some privacy. Once we were far enough, I dropped her on the ground and glared at her.

" ** _What the fuck are you doing?!_** " I growled. " ** _I taught you what you needed to know, you have the power to pull it off and the goddamn emotional support you need. So, please tell me why the fuck you keep on failing?!_** "

" ** _I keep on worrying everyone,_** " Quilava sighed, looking down. " ** _When Feraligatr came back from the mission everyone looked at me with the same worried eyes, concerned about how I would feel by being the only Johto Starter that has yet to achieve their last evolution stage. Then Ash called for me, worried about what I would do if left alone at the Ranch. Everyone has been walking on eggshells around me._** " Tears began to form in her eyes, but the fire on her back has also begun to burn hotter than I've ever seen. _Frustration is a good fuel,_ I thought impressed. " ** _I just hate it! Yes, I've not reached that stage yet and I want to. But that doesn't mean I'm made of glass!_** "

 _Oh, how I hate her._ I thought for a moment. _She doesn't get how lucky she is to have a trainer and a team worried about her. How I had wanted that when I was still back with that bastard... how I had not taken good care of it when I had evolved myself._

But I kept those thoughts to myself and growled: " ** _You want to show them you are strong, and they don't need to worry about you. Then take that goddamn anger and frustration and let it burn you! Aim it all to that boulder!_** " I shouted.

She burned and burned, her flames becoming bigger with every breath and her posture more animalistic. It all finally reached a boiling point, in which she yelled: " ** _Fire Blast!_** "

I had expected her to manage it, to succeed in her attack. What I had not been expecting was for her Fire Blast to melt the boulder... a big boulder at that!

I threw my head backward and laughed like a maniac. She had done it! She had truly done it! My laughter only increased when I saw a white light envelop her. She had fucking done it!

I smiled evilly at the newly evolved Typhlosion. There was no holding back any longer, the next time we have a battle I'll go all out and take all of my frustrations on that pretty face. I'll finally be able to move on from that chapter in my life.

I looked to the side to see Ash, Pikachu, and Bulbasaur standing hidden by the trees. I looked at my oldest friends, looking back with so much pride in their eyes, and thought: Maybe helping her was not such a nuisance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, many have been commenting on how they would like an option that unites option A to C or have chosen more than one option. As such, I've decided to add another option.  
> These are the options:  
> a) Ash accepts Scott's offer as the new Frontier Brain Leader. His building is based on Viridian with Gary working alongside him as the City's Gym Leader. Close to home and with the ability to travel to new regions whenever he wants to.  
> b) Ash keeps on raising his rank in the Ranger forces. He still gets to travel but will have more responsibilities.  
> c) Ash decides to become the newly made Orange League's Champion, with Drake and Lorelai as part of his Elite Four. He will get to travel but will have to return to the Archipelago various times to see if the changes he has made in the region were being followed. Like deciding their own Regional Starters, opening more Gyms over the region so that there would be eight, and creating a Lapras transportation system with the help of Lorelai so that trainers could go from island to island. If you choose this option, Gary might end up deciding to join Ash in the Archipelago and open his own Gym there.  
> d) Sinnoh League ends and Ash gets the offer to become the Orange Islands' Champion. He refuses saying he is too young yet for the responsibility, not mature enough for the position. Then Lorelai stops him and tells him that even though they are offering the position doesn't mean they'll make him Champion immediately, they still need to prepare and form the League (create the rest of the gyms, build an Orange Plateau, find the rest of the Elite Four members and build an Ace Force, advertise the new League, build various Ranger Headquarters on the different Islands, get the help of the Regional Profesor), which would take them at least two years (after he finishes his Kalos journey). That would end up giving him time to travel (not that would stop after he becomes Champion) and mature. Not to mention, that in the meanwhile he would have an input in how the League would proceed. Especially in the Rangers aspect, as the Ranger Commission would have given him full authority over the decision of their forces over the Orange Islands (Sarah and Josh became each a Head Ranger there). As for the Battle Frontier, Scott had always wanted to expand it, he could use Ash to publicize the experience over Unova and Kalos, having him battle various Master Trainers in a portable gym with public and news channels invited to observe and record. And then when he becomes Champion, instead of Scott building another Battle Frontier in Hoenn, he'll just build it at the Orange Islands with Ash as its leader. The Battle Frontier at Kanto stays the same.  
> Please tell me if and why you changed your choice.  
> Thank you!


End file.
